Bait and Switch
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Vrak's got a master plan to finally bring an end to the Megaforce Rangers. He's going to fight fire with fire. The Rangers have a rough road ahead of them, and if they don't figure out soon that Vrak's up to something big, it just might end up costing them one of their own.
1. Vrak's Weapon

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Megaforce. This story is fan-made._

_Author's Note: This is not where the Megaforce series starts. If you want to read the series without getting lost, I suggest you read my stories in the order they appear:_

_**No To Date Nights - The Party Night - Project Partners - Megaforce: Lives Behind The Masks - **__**Prom Night**__ - __**A Trip To Remember - First Meetings - Something She Loves – Protective Morans – Samurai In Harwood County – Rainy Days – Luck Had Nothing To Do With It – Ranger Support – Parents and Children – Hero Without The Spandex – Emma's Night – Emma's Mother**_

_I'm finally back. I had an awesome time on vacation. I got to see family and friends, visit two cottages, and enjoyed the great outdoors, but I'm so glad to be back at home and back to writing. Thank you all for being very patient with my hiatus and I hope this chapter (and the ones to come) are well worth the wait!_

* * *

Gia watched the battle from the command center. With her broken arm, she was forced by her mother and by Gosei to sit out battles. She didn't like the rule. She didn't like having to stand by and watch as her friends risked their lives without her, but it was for the best. Though she could do most of her normal activities with the cast on, it limited her range of motion in her wrist. In training, she had seen that could be costly.

She didn't like the sidelines. She didn't like watching, but this battle seemed easy enough. Her friends were taking a few hits, causing her to wince from time to time when they were knocked down, but it was clear they were going to win. Vrak hadn't sent out his strongest monster this time. It had been a while since his last attack. Gia assumed he was just reminding the Rangers he was still around.

"Never underestimate your opponent," Gosei reminded Gia. "You never know what they have planned."

"I just want to see this monster gone," Gia muttered. She got her wish. The Rangers took down the cricket-like alien and finished him off with a final attack. "Can I join the Megazord?" Gia looked up at Gosei and hoped he would give her this pass. He didn't say anything.

"Robo-Knight will be finishing him off," Tensou told her. Gia looked down at the screen to see he was right. For the Megazord battle, Robo-Knight would take the lead. From there, it didn't take long for the monster to fall. He was weak, and when matched up against Robo-Knight's strength as a Megazord, he was no threat at all.

Gia watched the monster's defeat with a little smile. She was glad her friends were okay.

After a little time they arrived at the command center. They looked a little banged up. Though the battle was one of their easiest ones, it didn't come without a few cuts and bruises. It seemed to be nothing that wouldn't heal up on its own. Troy, certainly, could explain the new bruises to his parents by saying he had been training in the woods with his friends. They knew about his love of martial arts and would buy his story without too many questions. Noah could say he had been in the forest, looking around for samples to study for his latest project when he tripped and fell. Jake could lie and say he had taken a nasty fall playing soccer.

Emma didn't need to explain. Everyone in her life knew who she was. That made the after battle clean-up a little easier to handle.

"How was it?" Gia asked when she saw them. They looked to each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"Nothing we couldn't handle. There was a little scare in the beginning," Jake answered. Gia looked to him curiously. It had taken a little time for the screens in the command center to get focused on the battle. She had missed the first part of their fight. When she had finally gotten a view and saw the Rangers were okay, she made nothing of it, assuming the part she had missed was more of the same.

"Vrak showed up for, like, a second," Noah said. "He presented the monster and this new weapon. He said it was some super-powered blaster that would be the death of us all."

"He must have gone to fix it up," Emma continued explaining. "When he blasted us with it… nothing really happened."

"Nothing?" Gia asked skeptically. "Vrak, the super-genius of the alien world comes up with a super-weapon and it does nothing?"

"Nothing," Troy nodded. "I don't know what it was supposed to do, but if destroying us was its purpose, it failed."

"Miserably," Jake chuckled. He then wrapped his arm around Gia, "The fight was pretty easy, but we still missed you."

"Yeah," Gia looked down at her cast, "You'll be missing me until the end of summer, I'm sure."

"There's a way you can still help out," Tensou said as he rolled up to the group, "You know, I wouldn't mind a hand around here every once in a while."

"I wouldn't really be able to help you with anything," Gia shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry, Tensou."

"Well," Noah said as he picked up his bag, which he and the others had left at the command center for safe keeping. Dumping their bags in a store or at the park while they ran off to fight a monster in the city was just asking for their things to get stolen, so they gave their bags to Gia to keep with her. "I should get back. Mom and dad are always worried about me during monster attacks."

"I should get back too," Troy nodded his head. "Rebecca was at the adoption center looking up possible parents for the baby, and the attack was pretty close. I want to be sure she's okay."

"She's actually going through with this adoption thing?" Noah asked as he and Troy started to walk out.

"We've discussed it's for the best."

"I should go find Jordan," Emma looked to Gia. "He likes it when I stop by after battles so he can see I'm okay."

"I should probably get home too," Jake said. "Dad is probably on his way home now from work to check up on me. I should be there when he comes home."

"I guess that means I'm headed home by myself," Gia said. "Someone's got to reassure my parents that Emma's okay. They aren't satisfied with what they see on the news."

Each of them grabbed their bags and started heading out their separate ways. Gia walked straight for home after Gosei teleported her back into the city, but he had only teleported her back from where he had taken her, leaving her a couple of blocks away from her home.

As she walked home, she looked down at her cast. She never liked it. She never liked the idea of sitting out battles because of it. Her mother had grounded her more due to the risk her arm would cause for her in battle than for her behaviour on the mountain. For that, Gia had been grounded from Mountain Boarding until she was completely healed.

Still, just because there was a risk for her, that didn't mean she also thought it best to sit out. Her teammates always had her back from the moment they came together. They even fought off Cliff and rescued her from him twice. Having to stand on the sidelines now, after all that, and watch her friends continue to fight without her made her feel a little useless.

She was pulled from her thoughts by people's screaming, and looked up to see Vrak standing in the middle of the street. He carried a blaster with him and a twisted smirk on his face. He was up to something – Gia could tell.

She had been told not to join the Rangers in battle, but was sure Gosei and her mother would agree she had to defend herself. Vrak had no monster with him and no Loogies. He had just appeared in the middle of the city, right where she was walking. It couldn't be a coincidence. If she tried to run, he was sure to come after her. She needed to fight at least until the others arrived.

The streets cleared themselves rather quickly. No one wanted to hang around where a monster was attacking. Gia found herself completely alone with Vrak in a matter of moments and saw his eyes set on her.

"We missed you, yellow Ranger. Have you realized the futility of fighting against us? You and your friends may be strong, but Earth will be conquered and destroyed."

"Yeah, right," Gia rolled her eyes, "You plan on taking over the world using monsters like that last one? Ten minutes is not a long time for a battle to take over the world. I've had longer fights with my parents."

"You don't understand, yellow Ranger. I have this," Vrak pointed his blaster at her, "A super weapon of mine. One I've been working on for some time now. Finally, it's been perfected, and it's going to be the end of you."

"You mean that blaster you used against my friends? The one that did nothing?"

Gia got her morpher out of her bag but just as she was about to morph, Vrak snapped his fingers and a flood of Loogies appeared in the streets. They started to grab her, making it impossible for her to morph. She had to fight.

Though she hadn't been allowed to join Ranger battles with her friends, she had kept up with her training for moments like these. The cast she wore would take her out of battle for several weeks and in that time she was sure she would run into a tricky situation. Rather than be helpless while waiting for her friends to turn up, she decided she would get used to fighting with the cast. Her training had worked long enough for her to defend herself against the Loogies. They weren't the strongest of fighters. The real problem came in the form of numbers. Too many of them meant the Rangers wasted too much energy fending them off.

Suddenly, she felt herself being pushed, and she was knocked into the ground. She looked up, seeing the Loogies had cleared a path for Vrak, and he had used that opening to shoot at her with his weapon. Gia looked down at herself to see if she was hurt, but there was no cuts and no blood. Her clothes weren't even torn or singed. All the weapon had done was push her over.

Though now there was another danger. She was on the ground with a dozen Loogies around her. As they lifted their blades to finish her off, she tried to cover herself. She didn't feel anything strike her for a while and assumed either someone had come to help her, or the Loogies decided not to finish her off.

Believing the former was most likely; she looked up and saw Noah fighting off what was left of the Loogies. Looking around again, she saw Vrak was nowhere in sight.

Noah came over and helped her up to her feet once the Loogies were destroyed.

"You okay?" he asked her. Gia nodded her head and looked at herself just to be sure.

"Yeah."

"Vrak took off as soon as I showed up. Most of the Loogies disappeared too. There were only a few left."

"Thanks for coming," Gia said.

"The alarm went off. I was closest. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Gia nodded her head and gave Noah a smile for reassurance. "Loogies are nothing, and Vrak must have used the same blaster on me as he did on you guys. Loogies hit harder than that thing does."

"I'll walk you home," Noah said. He didn't want to take any more risks. Vrak attacking twice in one day, and singling out a Ranger was bad news, even if his weapon couldn't do much damage.


	2. Side Effects?

It had been a few days now since Vrak's latest attack with his "super" weapon, which Noah found odd. If Vrak really had a weapon in his possession that was so grand, and it malfunction, he would have assumed the evil alien would be back day after day to test it out. More and more, Noah was starting to believe that maybe there was more to the weapon than a simple push and shove when it hit. Maybe the weapon had done something.

He didn't know what. After dropping Gia off at home after the attack, he went back to his place to do a few experiments. He tested himself in many ways to see if there was anything about him that was different. He didn't feel anymore drained than usual after a battle, and found he didn't have an extra strength. After running a few tests, he found that the blast had actually done nothing to him. He was not hurt; he was not tired, he was not sore, he was not sick.

There was nothing wrong with him – so something had to be. Noah had been building and testing new inventions and devices since he was a kid. Even machines that malfunctioned did something, and the machines that just didn't work – they didn't work at all. Vrak's machine had malfunctioned. It had done something. Gia said she felt like she had been pushed over when it hit her, and Noah and the other Rangers had been knocked down. It had done something – just not what they expected.

He spent the next couple of days running a few more tests. He thought maybe the effects of the machine had a delay start. When one day passed and there was nothing new to report, Noah began to have his doubts. On the second day, he was a little more convinced maybe there was nothing to the weapon.

When he woke up on the third morning and he felt perfectly fine, he really had his doubts there was anything to Vrak's latest weapon. He left the house and headed to Ernie's, where he was sure to bump into at least one of his friends. He arrived and saw Jordan sitting at the bar, sipping a root beer float. He walked over and chuckled slightly.

"A little early for sweets, isn't it?"

Jordan turned and shook his head, "It's never too early. What's up?"

"Just hanging out," Noah answered. "Has Emma told you the latest about Vrak?"

"Super weapon does nothing?" Jordan asked with a laugh, "Yeah, I heard about that one."

"I've been trying to figure it out, but so far I've gotten nothing."

"What do you mean?"

"Any side effects from the blast," Noah said. "I've looked for changes in energy, strength, and bodily functions. I've even checked to see if I've got a fever. Everything's as it should be."

"You've given yourself a physical? Is that where you've been hiding lately?"

"Vrak's weapon did nothing," Noah said. "I've got to be missing something."

"Or, maybe, his weapon just… did nothing," Jordan suggested. "C'mon, just because he's the bad guy, that doesn't mean he's always going to have things go his way. Even aliens screw up too, you know. He'll probably be back soon enough, having figured out the problem, and he'll destroy you all. Don't sweat it."

"Weirdest pep talk I've ever heard," Noah grumbled and then as Ernie came over with his order he straighten himself up and smiled, "Thanks, Ernie."

"Just the way you like it," Ernie said before walking off to serve the rest of the customers. Jordan shook his head.

"Dude, you know you've been in here way too often when you don't even have to place an order, and you get your smoothie specially made."

"One of the perks of being a loyal customer," Noah said as he took a sip of his smoothie. He turned back to Jordan, "Seriously, though, what could Vrak be up to? Don't you think he'd test his weapon before using it? Or he'd at least send out a stronger monster? Why bring out a new weapon and a pathetically weak alien? It was like he was asking for a loss."

"I don't know," Jordan said and turned around as he heard the bell over the door. He saw Emma walking in and smiled as he pointed to the seat next to him. He waved to Ernie, getting his attention.

Emma came over and sat beside Jordan. When he leaned in for a kiss she shrugged him away.

"Gross."

"Em?"

Noah looked over with a curious stare. Emma and Jordan never really crossed the disgusting PDA line, but they were known to show a lot of affection to each other, especially lately. Emma refusing a simple kiss was definitely odd.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked her. She nodded her head.

"Yeah, fine. Why?"

Jordan decided to forget the rejection for now and moved on, "Noah's paranoid Vrak's got a secret plan. Are you sure you're alright? No side effects from super weapon."

"We all got hit," Emma shrugged her shoulders. "If I'm feeling side effects, Noah should too. Why don't you ask him?"

The boys turned to each other with curious stares as Ernie came over with Emma's order. He placed down a smoothie in front of her with a smile.

"Low-fat cherry berry strawberry with carrot juice but no hot fudge."

Emma looked at the smoothie with a frown, "What do you have against hot fudge?"

"You always order this," it was Ernie's turn to frown. "Emma, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, why does everyone keep asking me?" Emma rolled her eyes and grabbed her smoothie. "I've got to go."

"But Emma, we were going to the…"

"Sorry, I made new plans," Emma said to Jordan and then took a sip of her smoothie. She had a look of disgust after tasting it, and then tossed the rest of it in the garbage. The boys and Ernie all turned to each other with baffled looks.

"Something's up," they said. Ernie had to shrug it off and get back to work as more customers arrived, but Noah pointed his look at Jordan and arched his eyebrow.

"Are you worried now?"

"A little bit," Jordan said. "But Emma brought up a good point. Wouldn't you all be feeling a little funny if there were side effects? You were all hit at once. You seem pretty normal."

"Yeah, well let me know if I start to change," Noah muttered. At that moment, Gia and Emma walked into Ernie's. They spotted the boys and headed straight to the bar. Emma sat next to Jordan and leaned in, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Okay, are you sure you're feeling alright?" Jordan asked as he looked at Emma. "And didn't you have to go somewhere?"

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked.

"Uh… what happened like… two seconds ago," Jordan answered. "You were in here and kind of crabby."

"Must have been her twin," Gia muttered from beside Noah, "Emma's been with me all morning. After mom and dad heard I got attacked when I was alone, I got assigned a babysitter."

"And I got in trouble, so I got assigned a babysitter," Emma said. "Gia and I aren't allowed to leave each other's sides."

"Aren't you two joined at the hip, anyways?" Noah chuckled. "That doesn't sound like a punishment to me."

"It is possible to be too close to someone," Gia answered. Ernie came over with just a smoothie for Gia. Emma looked to him curiously.

"Hey, Ernie, did you run out of strawberries again?"

Ernie shook his head, "I didn't think you liked the usual anymore."

"What?"

"You were _just_ here, Emma," Jordan told her. "Ernie gave you the usual, and you threw it out."

"In the garbage," Noah added.

"Did you two hit your heads?" Gia asked. "She wasn't just here; she was with me all morning."

"And why would I throw out the usual?" Emma frowned.

"No hot fudge?" Jordan shrugged.

"I don't want hot fudge… Are you two okay?" Emma put her hand on Jordan's arm. "Jordan, you've been getting enough to eat, right? I've told you, pizza and chips aren't acceptable as a meal every night."

"I've been eating healthy," Jordan rolled his eyes. "Emma, I'm serious, you were just here."

"I was with Gia all morning," Emma shook her head. "Trust me; I think I'd know where I've been."

"It must have just been a look-a-like," Gia said.

"Same clothes and everything?"

"They do sell more than one of the same style," Emma nodded her head. "It must have just been a coincidence. Anyways, I'm here now, so can we talk about something else?"

"What about the fact that Jordan tried to kiss your look-a-like?" Noah chuckled and Jordan turned to him angrily.

"Thanks, dude," he turned back to Emma, "Uh… I thought she was you."

"It's a good thing I'm not actually a twin," Emma chuckled and gave Jordan a pat on the shoulder, "I'll let this one slide. Next time, be sure it's actually me before we kiss."


	3. Odd Behaviour

Jake was training at the soccer field with his team. With the soccer season now underway, he needed to put a lot more focus into his training. Though that wasn't completely possible with his Ranger duties calling for him, his coach being a former Ranger meant he could slip away from practice or game with a lot more ease. Jake and Conner rarely talked about their shared responsibility to keep the secret as quiet as possible, but they could exchange nods or signals when needed to communicate there was something up.

Today seemed to be a good day. Jake almost made it through practice, and was playing a game of scrimmage with his teammates when he saw Gia walking through the park. The ball wasn't in his end of the field, and the game didn't really matter, so he called her over. She was supposed to be spending the day with Emma, but he was sure the pink Ranger wouldn't mind if he stole her away for a bit.

When he called her, she looked his way and then ignored him. Jake tried again, figuring she hadn't spotted him – though the large soccer team training on the soccer fields dressed in black and yellow were quite obvious. Gia knew what his uniform looked like and who his teammates were.

Still, he gave her the benefit of the doubt and called her a few more times. Finally she noticed him and walked straight onto the field. It was her mistake as a ball came flying towards her.

Jake hurried over and hit it away with his head. Then he frowned at Gia, "C'mon, I thought I was the idiot between us."

"Whatever. What do you want?" Gia answered and her gaze shifted around the field. Jake's teammates put the game on pause while Gia was on the field. Seeing they were getting a little annoyed, Jake walked her over to the sidelines so they could resume.

"Just saying hi," Jake said. "I wanted to know if we could hang out after. I could shower and then maybe we could go for lunch or…"

"I'm busy," Gia shook her head.

"I know you and Emma have to stick together. She and Jordan can come along. We could make it a double date."

"And why would I want to do that?" Gia asked. She rolled her eyes, "I've got to go."

"Gia, is everything okay?" Jake caught her arm as she tried to leave.

"Let me go," Gia ripped her arm away and stormed off, muttering under her breath about how annoying he was. Jake scratched the back of his neck and watched her leave with a curious look. Conner came around the field and put his hand on Jake's shoulder.

"What was that all about? You two get into a fight?"

"No… I don't think I did anything."

"Think hard," Conner chuckled. "Kira once gave me the silent treatment for a month. I still have no clue why. And we're not even dating!"

"I really don't think I did anything," Jake said. "Did I?"

"Sometimes, girls just behave strangely. Don't worry about it," Conner said. "Get back on the field now, Holling. We can't have you slacking off too much."

-Megaforce-

Troy and Rebecca left to adoption agency with a pack of papers in their hands. Starting up the adoption process was a lot of work. While Rebecca would be responsible for selecting the family who would adopt her baby, it was only fair the interested parents got to know a bit about her family history. They needed to know what they had in store for them if they were to take her child.

"This is a lot of work," Rebecca muttered. "It might just be easier raising the kid."

"I doubt that," Troy said. "Look, this shouldn't be too long. Mom can help you."

"She can?"

"Well, yeah," Troy nodded. "I have my own dad now, but unfortunately I'm not going to get his genetics. Mom's got dad's medical records from before he left, and she has a pretty good memory for stuff like that. If there's a history of heart disease or something, she'll know."

"I guess that makes things easier," Rebecca sighed. "Do you think they'll want to ask about personal stuff, though? Like… why I'm giving up the baby?"

"Maybe," Troy said. "You don't have to give away too much. I mean, you're sixteen. That says quite a bit already."

"But do you think they'll ask about… like… drugs and… stuff?"

"Did you ever do drugs while pregnant?"

"No."

"Were you near people who were doing drugs while pregnant?"

"Not really. A few smokers here and there."

"You're good, Rebecca," Troy smiled. He took the folders from Rebecca and started to walk with her. "You're going to find a family. Don't worry about it. We've just got to make sure you'll find the right one. This will weed out the people who won't be able to take proper care of your kid. You don't want someone who'll dump your baby as soon as they find out he has a tail or a third nipple."

"I guess not," Rebecca shrugged. As she and Troy made it to the bus stop they saw someone was already there waiting – someone they knew. Jake smiled as he placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Noah. Where are you headed?"

Noah looked up at him and Rebecca, and then back down at his laptop.

"It's none of your business."

"Okay, cold," Rebecca frowned.

Troy sat beside Noah on the bus bench, "Noah, is everything okay? What are you working on?"

"You wouldn't understand it anyways," Noah shook his head. "Let's just pretend we're not here."

The bus pulled up along the curb and opened its doors. Noah stepped on the bus and walked straight to the back where he could be alone. Troy tried to follow him, but Rebecca grabbed his arm.

"It seems like he's in a bit of a mood. Is it really a good idea to bother him?"

"Something's up."

"You can check up on him later. After you help me with these," Rebecca pointed to the folders. Troy nodded his head and took a seat with his sister.


	4. Nature Walk

The Morans were great parents, but sometimes, their rules restricted Emma a little too much. She was still grounded from getting home late from Jordan's house not too long ago, and had an early curfew that meant she couldn't go out anywhere past dinner time. Now, she was grounded because she had let Gia walk home alone after an alien attack, which led to the yellow Ranger being attacked. Because her arm was broken, Gia couldn't defend herself as well as she normally could, and nearly ended up being Vrak's latest victim. For her grounding, she was assigned the role of babysitter and babysittee. It matched Gia's punishment for Rangering with a cast. Emma needed to stay by Gia's side whenever they were out of the house, and Gia needed to stay with Emma. In other words, they couldn't be apart.

Fortunately, they were practically joined at the hip, and a few days without private times with their boyfriends wouldn't kill them. The girls decided to go for a walk through the forest, so Emma could take pictures – something she hadn't done in a while. Gia wasn't as into nature photography as Emma, but did enjoy the peace that came from being so far out of the city.

And it was always nice spending time with Emma.

"There's a bird's nest up there," Gia said. Emma made sure the camera was secure around her neck before she started to climb the tree slowly. At this time of the year, she wasn't likely to find bird eggs or baby birds, but it was still a nice photo to take, especially from up close. She loved everything that had to do with animals working peacefully with the earth. Though animals, like humans, took resources from the earth, they never took more than what they needed. Emma had stated countless times to her friends and her family that there was no need for excess, as too much was just a waste of money, time, and a waste of resources.

"You're going to fall," Gia called up as Emma stretched to get to the next branch above her. Emma shook her head.

"Please, I've been doing this since I was in diapers," she chuckled. "I'll be… whoa!"

She swayed slightly, but caught herself before she could fall. Looking down, she saw Gia with her hand over her chest.

"If you fall, I'll be the one to get in trouble."

"Maybe we'll have matching casts," Emma smirked. She leaned forward, letting the branches support her weight while she took out her camera and started shooting pictures. When she got what she needed from the nest, she looked down and shot a picture of Gia sitting by the trail next to a patch of flowers. She looked at the shot she had captured and smiled, "You really should pose for pictures more often."

"Did you just…? Emma, stop being creepy," Gia rolled her eyes. Emma put her camera around her neck once more and slowly started to make her way down.

"It's not creepy, it's art," Emma said. "Jordan promised if I got a real nice picture today, he'd paint it."

"Why? You'd already have the picture. Why would you need a painting?"

"It's a different style," Emma shrugged. "Besides, people see things differently, and the way we see the world is reflected in our art. The pictures won't be exactly the same."

"You can talk fancy all you want, but a photograph and a painting of the same scene is the same picture," Gia said. Emma jumped down from the tree and landed beside Gia. She gave her the camera to show her the pictures.

"You'll see. Besides, it's a sweet gesture."

"Aren't you two beyond the mushy gesture sweet stuff anyways?"

"You should never be past the mushy sweet stuff," Emma chuckled. "Your mom told me that."

"What does she know?"

"She's been married to your dad for twenty years."

"I should probably get them something," Gia said.

"I think the fact that they have their daughter back is gift enough this year," Emma answered before seeing a deer a little ways off. She grabbed Gia's arm to stop her moving and then slowly crept towards the deer so as not to startle it.

Gia knew to keep her distance from the shy animals. Emma always loved the challenge of getting up close. On occasion, she would get so close to the deer that, after shooting a few pictures, she would reach her hand out and the deer would walk over to her. Gia had seen Emma get so close to a deer that she would spend several minutes stroking the deer's fur. Emma always had a way with animals that made them trust her.

However, trust had to be earned. No one knew that better than Gia. She knew that if she made a sudden movement or noise, the deer would be startled and would run off before Emma could take a picture. So Gia always stayed away.

As she did that, though, she heard someone talking to themselves from the other side of the trail. Seeing Emma was inching her way over to the deer, and the deer didn't seem to mind at all, Gia went off the other way. She had never seen someone come this far out into the woods unless it was one of the Rangers.

She was surprised to see it was Jake. He had told her he would be at soccer practice all morning, but she figured he may have finished early and came out here to find her. She smiled when he saw her, and she waved for him to come over. Jake turned away from her.

"Jake," she called, but not too loudly so that the deer wouldn't be startled. She started to go after Jake. "Are you blind?"

She caught up to him and grabbed his arm. He finally turned around and gave her a smile.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked her. She pointed over her shoulder, where Emma could barely be seen taking the pictures of the deer.

"Nature walk. I thought you were at soccer."

"Oh, yeah," Jake nodded his head. "Soccer."

"You didn't forget, did you?" Gia frowned. "I know Coach McKnight is going easy on you because of the Ranger thing, but you still need to be a good player. I doubt it looks good if you're skipping out on practice to be with your girlfriend."

"Don't worry. I got it covered," he assured her and then took her hand, "C'mere, I want to show you something."

"Uh, okay, but Emma…"

"It's not far. She'll find us, easy."

Gia nodded her head and followed Jake away from the trail. She assumed he had found something interesting on his way over that he wanted her to see.

Back near the deer, Emma snapped as many pictures as she could before the deer decided it was enough and took off. With a smile, she flipped back over the shots she got, proud to say that many of them turned out great. She couldn't wait to get back into the city and print off all the pictures she had taken.

She turned around to look for Gia and call her over, but Gia wasn't there. She rolled her eyes and walked back towards the path.

"Gia, you can come out. The deer is gone," she called out but Gia never answered. "This isn't time for hide and seek. You know what your parents are going to do if they find out we split up! C'mon, Gia, I don't feel like being triple grounded. Gia?"

Assuming Gia wouldn't continue down the trail without her, Emma searched through the bushes until she tripped over a rock. She fell into the dirt, getting some of it in her mouth. As she spit it out, she heard some light sobbing.

"Gia?" she looked to the side and saw Gia curled up, rocking back and forth. She got up and then knelt next to her best friend, "Gia! What happened?"

"Is he gone?" Gia whispered very softly. Emma had to get closer to hear her.

"What?"

"Is he gone?"

"Who?"

"Jake."

"Jake's at soccer practice," Emma said. "No one is around, Gia."

Gia looked up and Emma saw red marks from tears all down her face. The red extended to one side of her face where it looked like Gia had been hit.

"What… Gia, is that…?"

"I want to go home," Gia whispered. Emma nodded and helped her up. She stuck close to Gia as they headed back to the city.


	5. Seeing Double

After sorting through the adoption papers with Rebecca, and giving her all the information he could about their shared family medical history, Troy went to go check up on Noah. Back at the bus stop, Noah had been unusually grumpy and reserved. Troy couldn't come up with a reason why. He couldn't remember offending the blue Ranger in any way.

First he stopped by the Brainfreeze, but Ernie told him Noah had left hours ago. Troy decided to head over to Noah's house. He found the blue Ranger working hard in his garage, with the door left partially open. Troy ducked inside and had a look around.

"Noah Carver's famous lab."

"Hey, Troy," Noah smiled at him, though there seemed to be a bit of frustration in his tone. "Kind of a bad time."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I guess so. At least, I hope so," Noah said. "You know that super weapon Vrak used."

"The tickle device?" Troy chuckled. "Boy, am I glad that thing didn't work."

"I'm not convinced it didn't," Noah answered Troy and rounded his experiment table, where there were charts and files and tools Troy didn't know the name of. Next year, he really needed to pay more attention in science class. "Something about that last battle just seemed… too easy."

"Are you sure?" Troy asked. Noah nodded his head and got back to work. Troy had another look around the lab but he kept his hands to himself. He remembered what had happened to Jordan when he had fiddled with Noah's experiments. "Hey, Noah, I just wanted to stop by to see how you were doing."

"What? Why?" Noah looked up for a moment. "Everything's fine. I'm a little tired because I'm working myself to the bone trying to figure this out, but there's no need to check up on me."

"It's just, at the bus stop earlier; you seemed a little… unlike yourself."

"At the bus stop? Troy, I walked home. Ernie's is just ten minutes away."

"You were on the bus. Ask Rebecca, she saw you."

"Uh, I didn't take a bus. It must have been a look…" Noah trailed off. He had heard that before. He looked up at Troy, "You know, the weirdest thing happened to me today."

"What's that?" Troy asked.

"Jordan and I were at Ernie's. We were just chatting when Emma walked in. She was… different."

"Snippy?"

"Kind of, yeah. Ernie made her the usual, and she threw it out. She didn't like it."

"Tastes change. Maybe she's bored."

"She didn't have to be rude about it, though," Noah said. "Anyways, that's not the really weird part. She walked off, saying she had somewhere to be, and then seconds later she and Gia walk back in and it's like… nothing happened."

"Kind of like now?" Troy asked. "Noah, are you sure you weren't on the bus? I mean, you were… you. Laptop, glasses, blue. Everything was just… you."

"Could it be a side effect from that blast?"

"Rebecca wasn't hit," Troy shook his head. "And you said you were with Jordan. Did he see Emma too?"

"She wouldn't kiss him. Well, not until she came back, that is," Noah nodded. "But he did see her."

"So, that can't be a side effect…"

"Well… what about… No," Noah shook his head, dismissing his idea, but Troy gave him a look that asked he share it. "Well, I was going to say maybe the blast causes us to behave in a certain way, and then we forget about it, but I don't have any missing time, and Gia said Emma was with her all morning."

"So, that can't be it," Troy said before they heard a knock on the garage door. Noah did his best to hide all his Ranger related notes as the person on the other side of the door ducked under and came inside.

"Hey, Noah, I was just wondering if…" the person said before he stopped and saw Noah wasn't alone in his garage.

Noah's jaw dropped as he looked back and forth between Troy and… well, Troy. The person who walked in looked completely identical to the red Ranger.

There was a moment of hesitation before Troy – the first Troy - lunged at the newcomer. Noah took his glasses off to wipe the lenses as a fight started in his garage. By the time he put them back on, he couldn't tell which Troy was the right one. He looked back and forth between them, hoping to spot some difference that would tell him which was his friend – if either were – but couldn't see any.

"Troy?"

"Not now, Noah!"

"A little help here!"

Noah furrowed his brow. There was no way to tell the two apart. It didn't help that they were in a fight against each other and moving around constantly. Finally one Troy smashed the other into the table and with a strong blow to the head knocked him out cold. He let him fall to the floor as he looked over to Noah.

"Do you have any rope?"

"Uh… yeah," Noah nodded and walked to one of his shelves. He pulled out a length of rope and handed it to Troy. The red Ranger tied the hands of the other red Ranger and lifted him up.

"I think we've figured out our problem," Troy said. Noah could only nod his head, still very confused from seeing double.

"You're the right Troy… right?"

"Yeah."

"Prove it. Uh…"

"Noah, just contact the others. We'll let the know what's going on. Are your parents at home?"

"No, they're working."

"Tell the others to come here. I'll make sure this guy doesn't get away," Troy said, and walked through the door that led to the house. Noah took out his morpher and turned on the communicator.

"Guys, we have a pretty big problem. Meet at my place A.S.A.P."

-Megaforce-

Jake was packing up his soccer bag when he heard his morpher beep and Noah's voice calling him over. He plucked the morpher from his bag and spoke into it.

"On my way, Noah. Anytime for a shower?"

"You can shower at my place. This is pretty serious, Jake."

Jake nodded his head as one of his teammates came over. He took the morpher from him and examined it.

"Dude, what is this?"

Jake took the morpher back, "My friend's a total tech genius. It's a walkie-talkie."

"It's a funny looking thing. Don't the Rangers have something like this?"

"It was Ranger inspired. You know what nerds are like," Jake answered. "I'd explain it to you, but I don't know all the techy lingo, so it'd all just be babbling."

"Whatever. You're coming to the next game, right? We're playing Reefside and you know how the Coach gets when we play his hometown. We'll need a win."

"Aw, I'm sure you could scrape up a few goals without me," Jake gave his teammate a teasing look, "Don't worry, dude, I'll be there."

"Awesome. See you on the field, Jake."

Jake nodded his head and then stuffed his morpher back in his bag and started to run to Noah's house.

-Megaforce-

"He did this?" Emma frowned at her best friend as she soaked a cotton ball in hydrogen peroxide and rubbed it on a cut on Gia's hand. "Jake Holling. Our Jake Holling, did this?"

"Yeah," Gia nodded. She winced as the cotton ball touched her hand. She had cut herself when she fell on the ground and landed on a stick. The cut wasn't deep, but because it had been covered in dirt, Emma wanted to be sure it was cleaned out before there was an infection. Gia already had one hand in a cast; she didn't need for the other to be infected. "You believe me, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Emma looked up at Gia and could still see the tear stains on her cheeks, as well as the faint mark where Gia said Jake had hit her. She picked up a bandage and placed it on Gia's hand. "It's just… that doesn't sound like him."

"No one would have believed me if I told them about Cliff."

"I knew," Emma said. "I knew Cliff was bad. I just… I don't get that same feeling from Jake."

Gia looked down at her hand and it looked like she was second guessing herself. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know… Maybe I was wrong. I took some painkillers this morning."

"They don't cause hallucinations," Emma shook her head. She heard the morphers beeping, and then Noah calling everyone over to his house. She told him she would be right over and looked to Gia, "You can stay here. This is probably Ranger related, so your parents wouldn't want you coming. I can talk to Jake. I'll figure this out."

"Maybe it wasn't him…"

"Don't protect him, Gia," Emma said. She left Gia to sit on the couch and grabbed the remote for the TV. "I'll be back as soon as I can. I'll talk to Jake and we'll get to the bottom of this. Just… try and think of something else, okay?"

Gia nodded her head and leaned back into the couch. She took the remote from Emma and turned on the TV. Emma grabbed her bag and walked out of the house.


	6. Clone Trouble

Emma was confused when she walked into Noah's living room and saw Troy sitting on a chair and on the couch. The Troy on the chair was tied up tightly and unconscious by the looks of things, while the Troy on the couch was sitting with Noah, talking to him and Jake about something Emma couldn't quite catch. As soon as she walked in, thought, the conversation stopped.

"Gia?"

Emma shook her head, "She shouldn't be Rangering. She's at home. I'll fill her in later."

"Is she okay?" Jake asked. He knew that though she wasn't supposed to take part in battles because of her arm, it wasn't like her to skip out on a team meeting. She could contribute to the team in this way by offering up ideas, or perhaps coming up with a reason as to why there were two Troys in one place.

"You would know," Emma said and took a seat on the couch. Jake frowned at the answer but ignored it. He had more important matters to address. He pointed to Troy on the couch, "So, you're the real deal?"

"You'd all probably be dead if I wasn't," Troy nodded his head. He pointed to the other him, "I don't think I need to tell you guys this is a real problem."

"We're guessing that's what Vrak's blaster did," Noah said. "Maybe it wasn't supposed to destroy us. Maybe it was supposed to make clones."

"Clones?" Jake frowned. He couldn't deny Noah's theory as plausible. He was currently staring at two Troys. But it didn't sound like one of Vrak's great schemes. "Dude, you're really smart, but Vrak's trying to destroy us. Why would he make copies of us? Wouldn't that just make more work for him?"

"Not unless he can alter their personalities. Make them work for him," Noah stated.

"Other teams have had to face clones before," Troy added. "Those plans have always failed, though."

"So then why would Vrak think his plan is so special?" Emma asked.

"That's what we're going to have to find out," Troy said. He pointed to the Troy in the chair, "Once he wakes up, we'll ask him."

"Or you," Jake said. "Noah says he got the two of you mixed up, so how can we be completely sure you're the real Troy."

"Tie me to a chair if it makes you feel comfortable," Troy said and he held out his hands. "Noah, is there more rope in the garage?"

"Yeah, loads."

"I'm still not convinced by this clone, thing," Jake shook his head. "Well, I mean, obviously Vrak's up to something… but isn't he always. How do we know Troy's family isn't just hiding another baby?"

"I don't have a twin brother," Troy rolled his eyes. "This is a clone."

"Something is definitely going on," Emma said. "I guess, whether the clone theory is right or not, we've all got to keep an eye out and be extra cautious when talking with… each other."

"Okay," Jake said, nodding his head slightly, "Alright, now I see how this plan is going to be dangerous. We can't split up. I mean, how can we even trust that we're all who we say we are?"

"Well, we all had our communicators on us, that's how we knew to come here," Emma said. "Could that count?"

"It's certainly a good point," Troy nodded his head. He presented his morpher, "Just so you guys trust I'm the right one."

"Troy hasn't left my sight since we nabbed that one," Noah said. "I can vouch for him by saying he didn't steal that one off him."

"Alright, so that's… good," Jake said. Then he noticed Emma looking to him like she had something to say. He turned to her, "Is everything alright?"

"You were at soccer practice all day, right?"

"Yeah, you can ask Coach McKnight. Why did something happen?"

"No… I guess not. At least, I hope not."

"Is something wrong?" Troy asked her.

"Gia and I were out in the woods. I took my eyes off her while I took some pictures of a deer. She wandered off. When I found her she said Jake had hit her."

"I… that wasn't me," Jake raised his hands in the air defensively and Emma could see the rage on his face. He looked to her, "Emma, I'd _never_ do that! Especially not for no reason! You have to believe me."

"With clones likely out there, I think I have to. I want to," Emma said. "You really were at practice this morning."

"All morning," Jake nodded his head. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Ask the coach. Ask all my teammates. I haven't seen Gia all day, I… Actually, I have."

"You have?" Emma asked and there was a little frown. Jake shook his head.

"No, no, at the field. Gia was at the park. She walked by and I called her over. She was a little cold when we were talking. It was like she didn't care about me."

"Gia was with me all day. We never went to the park. Just Ernie's and then the woods."

"So, we've all got clones. We've all run into them at some point today," Noah said.

"We're sticking together," Troy announced to his teammates. "Let's agree now, if one Ranger leaves our sight, when we find them again…"

Troy trailed off and pointed to the chair. He didn't want to say it, but he knew his teammates knew what he meant.

"I have a better idea," Emma said. She grabbed Noah's pen from his hand and lifted his shirt. "Inspired by Gia's tattoo."

"Gia has a tattoo?" Noah asked before he felt the tip of his pen roll over his skin, "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Vrak's cloned us," Emma said, "so if we add a marking now, one the clones can't see, they can't copy it. If we do get split up, show the tattoo and we'll know it's one of us."

Emma finished her tattoo on Noah and then looked to Troy. He turned away from her and lifted his shirt so she could tattoo him.

"Try not to wash it off," Troy told his teammates. "We don't want any mistakes."

Emma did all three boys before handing the pen to Jake and letting him mark her. When it was done, she looked at all three of them.

"We should go tell Gia what's up. She may be benched, but she's just as likely to fall into this trap as we are."

"Where is she?" Noah asked.

"Home."

"Alone?"

"Joe's at work. Vanessa must be out shopping. The house is a little bear since the furniture was ruined in the flood."

"So, Gia's at home alone and there are clones of us running around the city?" Noah asked. He pointed to Troy's clone, "Emma, this one came to my house."

Emma's eyes were wide for a moment before she took off, with Jake right behind her. Troy was next to jump up and was about to leave with them, but stopped when he saw Noah wasn't following.

"Noah…"

"Uh, I can't exactly leave you tied up in my living room," Noah said. "What if my parents come home?"

"We'll call Jordan to clean him up," Troy said. "C'mon, we can't split up, remember."

Noah nodded his head and took off running while Troy followed him, cell phone in hand.

"Hey, Jordan, it's Troy. I've got this really weird favour to ask you…"

Down the street, Emma hurried as quickly as she could back home, wishing she had taken her bike with her to Noah's instead of walking. Eventually she made it, with Jake not far behind. Moments later, Troy and Noah arrived. They were all panting, way out of breath from the long run, but they had made it back safely.

"You… you do know… we can teleport… right," Noah reminded the others.

Emma rolled her eyes and walked up to the door. She opened it, which she thought odd because she was sure she had locked the door on her way out. However, she had been angry with Jake, and not thinking about the door. She let it go and stepped inside.

"Gia?"

She walked to the living room, where she had left the yellow Ranger and saw her best friend was passed out on the couch. She shook her awake gently and knelt beside her, "Gia, are you okay?"

"What?" Gia rubbed her eyes and looked to Emma. She noticed the boys were with her, "Everyone's here."

"Yeah, clone troubles," Emma nodded. "We'll get you caught up."


	7. Goodnight Daddy

Troy paced back and forth in the Moran's living room. By now, they were fairly certain Vrak's new weapon had created clones. Everyone had been spotted doing strange behaviours, but they all denied doing so, and had alibi's to prove that they hadn't even been at the location where the incident occurred. It was too much to be a coincidence. Troy had even seen his own clone with his own eyes. There was no denying something weird was going on.

Jordan had called to say he safely collected Troy's clone from Noah's house. By the time Jordan arrived, the clone had regained consciousness and had less than nice things to say as Jordan smuggled him out of the house. However, Jordan reported that when he questioned the clone for answers he got nothing. Whatever the plan was, the clone wouldn't talk.

In his dreams, Troy has seen the Rangers battle clones before. Though many of the plans had been solid, and the use of clones put the Rangers' strength to the test, it had never been a foolproof plan. The Rangers always managed to figure out who was the real Ranger and how to defeat their twins. What made Vrak think this plan could work for him? There had to be something more.

"I can't come up with anything either," Noah said when he saw the worried look on Troy's face. "We're just going to have to play it by ear. We're all here. As long as we stick together, we can't be fooled."

"Let's hope," Troy nodded his head.

Over on the couch, Jake sat with Gia while he explained to her how he hadn't been the one to hit her in the woods. Gia seemed to believe him right away, and was in his arms, listening as he apologized for what had happened, and then told her repeatedly that he would never, ever raise his hand to her.

Jake knew it hadn't been him that touched her. He knew he never would. But just the thought of someone hurting Gia, even just a little bit, angered him. To know that person looked exactly like him infuriated him. He wanted to find his clone and destroy him personally for what he had done to Gia.

"You know, it just occurred to me," Emma said as she walked in from the kitchen with a tray of snacks, "We're outnumbered by our clones. If Vrak's got a perfect copy of all of us, Gia included, and Gia can't fight, then it's four against five in their favour."

"I can fight," Gia said. Emma and the boys shot her a look. She raised an eyebrow, "C'mon, guys. It's the fate of the world we're talking about. My arm isn't worth loosing everything."

"We'll call you if we really need you," Troy said. "But the less we can risk, the better. Besides, Vrak couldn't have used the same machine to clone Robo-Knight. He's not human. Would it be possible?"

"We are talking about Vrak," Jake said. "The guy invented a device that cloned us. He very well could have a copy of Robo-Knight out in the city somewhere."

"More reasons not to trust him," Gia muttered.

"Jordan's got my clone anyways," Troy reminded the team. "As long as it stays that way, the numbers are even. I'll take on Gia's clone if she turns up."

"If they do turn up at all," Jake said. "What if they don't want to start a fight? What if they try to destroy us quickly, from the inside out?"

"Doesn't matter. We're not leaving each other's sight," Noah said. "As long as we stick to that, they can't get past us."

The front door opened. Emma let out a sigh.

"Guess we've got to tell the Morans we're having a huge sleepover tonight."

-Megaforce-

Sleeping on the loveseat wasn't ideal for Emma, but with the team in need to stay together at all times, the living room was the only place for her to stay. Her bedroom was upstairs, and it was too far away from the others and too small to sleep everyone. She could count her blessings, though. Unlike Troy and Noah, she actually had a soft place to sleep. The red and blue Rangers were stuck on the floor, with nothing but a few pillows and some blankets for comfort. She had offered one of them the loveseat, but they declined, saying they were too tall to fit comfortably anyways.

With the clones on her mind, and the discomfort of sleeping on a couch instead of her own bed, Emma couldn't get much sleep. She rolled over, hoping a new position might lull her back to sleep but found she was just as uncomfortable as the time before. She looked over to the big couch, where Gia and Jake were sleeping together in each other's arms. There wasn't a lot of room, but they somehow managed to squeeze in.

At least, they had managed. Gia was no longer on the couch. Emma heard some banging around in the kitchen and got up to see what was happening. She found Gia going through the cupboards.

"Can't sleep?" she asked.

Gia turned around and jumped from fright. She hadn't heard Emma coming over. The pink Ranger chuckled, "Sorry. To be fair, I didn't hear you get up."

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

"No," Emma shook her head. "What are you looking for?"

"A glass. I'm thirsty."

"Aren't there some… Gia, right here," she opened the cupboard where the glasses were usually kept and saw it was completely stocked. "Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah," Gia nodded. "Still just a little shaken up about the whole clone thing. I can't believe I let Jake fool me like that."

"Clone Jake," Emma said. "Don't worry about it. He would have fooled any of us. I saw Troy's clone and there was no telling them apart."

"Are you sure we've got the real Troy, then?" Gia asked. Emma nodded her head.

"Ninety-five percent."

"What about the other five percent?"

"I can't be too trusting," Emma said. "We're going to figure this all out, Gia. No sense losing sleep over it."

"So then why are you up?"

"I guess I'm a little worried too," Emma chuckled. "The loveseat isn't helping, though."

Gia finished her water and put the glass down by the sink, "I wish I could help you guys."

"I want that arm to get better," Emma said. "The less active you are with it, the faster it'll heal. You'll be back in action sooner if you rest than if you let aliens beat up on you all the time."

"I guess, but you promise you'll call if you need help."

"Your arm isn't worth losing," Emma smirked and nodded her head. "We'll try not to, but we won't be stupid. If you're needed, we'll call, I promise. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm getting a little tired. Wanna head back?"

"Yeah, I'll be right with you," Gia said. "There's just something I need to get upstairs."

"What?"

"Uh, my pillow. I sleep better with it."

"You're already cramped on that couch as it is," Emma said but shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever. Goodnight, Gia."

"Goodnight," Gia said and watched Emma leave the kitchen before she headed up the stairs. Instead of going into her room she continued down the hall to the master bedroom. She tip-toed to her parent's bed and over to her father's side. Gently, she woke him up, "Dad?"

"Gia?" he sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes as he woke up. "Are you okay? Shouldn't you be downstairs with the others?"

Mr. Moran knew why the sleepover was taking place. Though he knew Gia's friends were Rangers and they could be trusted, he wasn't comfortable with letting the boys stay over, especially if they were going to be in the same room as his daughters. However, this was a special circumstance. He and Mrs. Moran had been told of Vrak's latest scheme, and how the Rangers were worried there was a cloning problem. They needed to stick together so there was no confusion about who could be trusted and who was a threat.

"I need to talk to you about something. It's… it's about Jake."

"What about him?"

"Well… we're sharing a couch, right."

"Yes," Mr. Moran gritted his teeth. He wasn't pleased with the idea, but had to trust Jake couldn't try anything with a room full of people.

"He's making me uncomfortable."

"How so?"

"Can we… can we talk about this outside?"

"Let me wake up your…"

"I just want to talk to you about this," Gia said. "See if this is normal for guys. It's kind of… embarrassing."

"Okay," Mr. Moran said and he got out of bed. He grabbed his housecoat and on tired feet he followed Gia down the stairs and out to the front porch. They sat on the bench. Mr. Moran looked to his daughter.

"What is it you want to talk about?" he asked her. "What is he doing that's making you uncomfortable?"

"Can I… can I show you?" Gia asked. Mr. Moran nodded his head and when Gia gestured for him to stand up, he did so. She stood behind him.

"So… so we're laying on the couch like this, right?"

"Yeah."

"And… well, Jake, he… he puts his hand over my mouth like… like this," Gia did as she said by placing her hand over Mr. Moran's mouth to show him. "Then, then he whispers something in my ear."

Mr. Moran couldn't say anything. Gia's hand over his mouth kept him from doing so. Gia didn't wait for him to ask what, though. She reached up and whispered in his ear.

"Never trust a clone," she said before pulling out a knife and stabbing Mr. Moran in the chest. She did so a few times, while silencing his cries by wrapping her other arm around his neck, cutting off his air. As she expected, he fell into her arms. Gia dropped him. She watched as he lay on the floor, unmoving. Just to be sure, she stabbed him one more time and then checked his pulse. She found none.

"You never should have gotten involved with the Rangers," with a kiss on the cheek she stood back up and smirked, "Goodnight, daddy."

She didn't bother head back inside. Her clothes were stained with his blood and if she did go back inside, she ran the risk of waking the others. When they found the body, they would figure her out. She was better off running away now.


	8. A Family Torn

For Mrs. Moran, it was just a regular morning. She woke up late because there was no need to get out of bed early. She had quit her job months ago to dedicate more time to the girls. Emma's parents had abandoned her, and Gia was still recovering from her relationship with Cliff. Having both parents working full time meant there wasn't always someone on call to help them. Mr. Moran made enough money to support his family and so Mrs. Moran could step down and take on the role as a stay at home mother.

When she didn't see Mr. Moran sleeping next to her, she made nothing of it. He had to work, and usually could get up, get ready, and leave without waking her. She missed seeing him in the morning, but appreciated he wanted to let her get all the rest she needed. Staying at home all day was more tiring than most believed. She had to cook, clean, and take care of her family. On some days, that meant not a lot of work. Other days, it was a job and a half.

Today was looking like the latter. She had a houseful of children to look after because the Rangers were on a mission and couldn't split apart, even for the night. She knew they were working hard to keep themselves and the city safe and figured she would help by making them breakfast. She walked straight down the stairs and to the kitchen and pulled out the ingredients for waffles from the pantry and the fridge. As she mixed them all together in a bowl, a tired Emma dragged her feet into the kitchen.

"Good morning, sweetheart."

"Love-seat sleeping sucks," Emma muttered. "I should have just taken the floor."

"I'll buy a better couch today," Mrs. Moran said. After moving back into the house, they had to replace most of their furniture from the first floor. Generously, their neighbours had donated their old couch from their basement for them to use until they had enough saved up to purchase their own. It wasn't the most comfortable of couches, but it was a place to sit and watch TV with the family, which meant it was good enough. "I'm going furniture shopping. You and the Rangers wouldn't want to join me, would you?"

"We're kind of figuring out this clone thing," Emma shook her head. "Just get something comfortable. And nothing made from animals."

"Right. I guess leather is out," Mrs. Moran teased. Emma frowned then rolled her eyes.

"When are you going to stop teasing me? You know protecting the environment and the animals is serious business."

"I know, sweetheart. Just let me have a little fun. Trust me, I take this just as seriously as you do."

Mrs. Moran reached to the counter by the fridge where she pulled out a home store magazine, "I've been looking into couches already. I've circled the ones I liked. None of them are made from animals."

Emma smiled to see Mrs. Moran had indeed done her research. It was something else she loved about the Morans. Her real parents hadn't taken her passion for saving the Earth seriously – or at least, they didn't care enough about it to take it seriously. Her father had once bought himself a leather jacket, and he tried to surprise her with one of her own. To celebrate her fifteen birthday (three weeks later after leaving Emma behind for a trip) her parents made her a special dinner of steak and lobster. While Mr. and Mrs. Moran sometimes teased her about her diet and her passion, they never once failed to see how important it was to her. They would go out of their way to cater to her needs. On vacations, when they brought her along, they would drive miles and miles away from the highway to find a restaurant with vegetarian options for Emma, and whenever possible they avoided buying protects that was tested on or harmed animals or the environment in anyway.

"Thanks."

"Of course," Mrs. Moran nodded. "Now, go outside and grab the paper. If we're lucky, there will be a coupon or a sale being advertised."

Emma did as she was asked and stepped outside to grab the paper, but as she walked out onto the porch she noticed a patch of red on the wood. This patch had never been there before.

The red seemed to leave a trail off the porch and down the stairs. There was a mark on the walkway, and then a few traces of it on the grass. Emma tracked the red around the garage, over to where the Morans kept their garbage bins.

She cleared away the bag and the recycling containers and then let out a piercing scream as she discovered Mr. Moran's bloodied body.

Mrs. Moran heard the scream from inside the house and dropped the bowl of waffle mix on the floor as she ran out to check up on Emma. The scream also managed to wake the boys, who jumped out of their beds and raced after Mrs. Moran.

Mrs. Moran saw the newspaper at the end of the driveway, but Emma wasn't around. She heard another scream – Emma's scream – and followed it around the side of the garage. There, she found Emma on the ground, kneeling over what looked like Mr. Moran's legs.

"Emma?" Mrs. Moran asked and fell beside the pink Ranger. Then she had a look at the body on the ground and saw it was indeed her husband and he had multiple stab wounds in his chest. Gently, Mrs. Moran pushed Emma away and leaned over her husband.

"Joe? Joe, please don't do this," she touched his face but he was cold. She tapped his cheek to try and wake him, but he didn't move.

"Holy shit," Jake whispered as he looked over and saw Mr. Moran's body. He turned to Noah, unsure of what to do now. With the multiple wounds in Mr. Moran's chest, and the thought that he had likely been like that all night, Jake was sure he was dead. He didn't know what that meant now.

Troy didn't know what to do either, but when he saw Emma on the ground, confused and deeply traumatized by what she was seeing, he wrapped his arms around her and helped her up. While she tried to fight him, Troy brought her back inside the house.

"Mrs. Moran," Noah said as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "I think… I think he's gone."

"He can't be," the tears were streaming down her face as she cradled her husband's body close to her chest, "No, Joe, wake up."

"We can take him inside," Noah offered and looked to Jake. The black Ranger nodded his head and helped Noah lift Mr. Moran. They took him around the back, not wanting the neighbours to see them carrying a dead body. Mrs. Moran followed closely, checking up on her husband as though he was still alive. When the boys lay him across the couch, she leaned over him.

"Joe? Please wake up, Joe. You're going to be okay. We'll take care of you. Please, don't die," Mrs. Moran then turned around and frowned at the boys, "What are you standing around there for? He needs and ambulance!"

"Mrs. Moran, he's dead," Noah said.

"An ambulance won't save him," Jake added.

"No!" Mrs. Moran looked to her husband and stroked his face gently, "He was alive last night. He… he… we… No, he's not dead. He can't be dead. Joe… Joe, please wake up."

Noah tried to say something, but Jake grabbed his arm and signalled for him to be quiet. It was obvious Mrs. Moran didn't want to listen to them, and it only hurt more when they tried to tell her what she didn't want to hear. The truth would sink in for her eventually.

And it did. It took a lot more begging and pleading from Mrs. Moran for her husband to wake up, but eventually even she couldn't deny he was dead. She hugged him one last time before laying him down gently on the couch. She looked up at the boys.

"The girls. They need to know. Emma, Gia…"

"Troy must have taken Emma upstairs," Noah said. "I'll get them."

Mrs. Moran nodded and then turned to Jake as if to ask him where Gia was. Jake had a look around the room and shrugged.

"She… she wasn't on the couch when we woke up," he frowned. Mrs. Moran's eyes widened in a panic, but she didn't want to freak out too much yet. Remembering Emma complaining about sleeping on the couch, she figured Gia must have felt he same way and decided to break the rules and sleep in her own bed. She raced up the stairs and stormed into Gia's room.

The bed was made. The room was clean. Gia wasn't there. Mrs. Moran raced out of the room and practically tore the whole house apart as she searched for her daughter. Jake and the others helped as much as they could but as soon as it was obvious Gia wasn't home, Mrs. Moran turned on them. She grabbed Jake and pinned him against the wall. Her eyes had nothing but anger inside of them.

"Where is my daughter?"

"We'll find her," Jake promised and he could feel himself being lifted from the ground. He had no idea Mrs. Moran was that strong. "She was here last night. She can't be far. We'll find her."

"He has my daughter," Mrs. Moran growled. "The son of a bitch killed my husband and he took my daughter."

"We'll find her," Jake promised. Emma pulled away from Troy and placed her hand on Mrs. Moran's arm.

"Vanessa, let him go."

Mr. Moran glared at Jake for a minute before letting him go. Jake dropped to the floor and quickly moved out of her reach. Mr. Moran's gaze never left him, though.

"I don't care who this bastard is," she cried. "I want the Rangers to take him down. I want him dead! I want him _dead_!"

"We'll find out who did this," Jake promised her as he reached into his sweater pocket for his morpher. He saw Noah and Troy already had theirs in hand. Then he turned to Emma. "Are you coming?"

Emma looked up at Mrs. Moran and then back to Jake. She shook her head. She couldn't leave Mrs. Moran alone, not like this. And truth be told, she couldn't promise she would be able to control herself if she found the person who murdered Mr. Moran. It was best she stay home to take care of Mrs. Moran. It was best she stay out.

"Just find Gia," she begged.

"She's got her morpher on her," Noah announced. "We can track her."

"This won't be long," Jake growled and hurried from the house.

-Megaforce-

In a dark room, Gia struggled to free herself from the ropes that bound her to a chair. Her arms were pulled behind her, which meant her hands were together. She could wriggle and squirm a little bit, but the bonds were tight. It wasn't easy getting free.

And the dark was no help to her at all. She had no idea where she was or what she was working with in terms of knots. However, she knew who her captors were. She knew, but she just couldn't believe it.

The door to her room opened and a bright light flood in. She winced and it took some time for her eyes to adjust. In that time, her captor made it over to her with a bowl of cereal. He held it out to her.

"Hungry?"

Gia looked up at him pleadingly, "Jake…"

"Don't give me that look," Jake had brought in a chair. He placed it down before her and took a seat. He dipped the spoon in the cereal and then held it up to her mouth. "Eat."

"I trusted you," Gia whispered and her eyes started to water.

"You trust a lot of bad people, Gia."

"No! Something happened to you! This isn't you, Jake. Let me go, I can help."

"You'll do nothing but eat. Vrak will be here soon."

"Listen to yourself, Jake! We don't work for Vrak. Let me go, I'll get help. I'll…" she was interrupted by the spoon as Jake forced it into her mouth. He could try all he wanted, she wouldn't eat. As soon as she could, she spit out the cereal. A piece of it landed on Jake's face. He glared at her for a moment before raising his hand. Gia felt the sting of the slap across her face.

"Idiot!" Emma cried as she walked in and ripped Jake away from the chair. "If she won't eat, let her starve. You don't hit her. Vrak holds that right."

"She spit on me," Jake wiped the cereal from his face and glared at Gia one more time before storming out. Gia looked up at Emma.

"Em, please. I can help."

"We don't need your help."

"Vrak did something…"

"He did nothing," Emma shook her head and smirked. At that moment, she heard a noise from the other room. People talking. People laughing. She turned around and stepped outside, but left the door open. Gia tried to look out, but she couldn't see much.

Finally, someone else walk in. Someone she hadn't seen yet. Someone she didn't think she could see. It was herself. She frowned deeply, and could only imagine she was seeing things – seeing the impossible.

"But… but…"

"Confused?" she chuckled. Then she gestured to her clothes, which were stained in blood, "It's amazing what you can accomplish when no one knows you're not who they think you are."

Gia looked to the blood and the colour drained from her face. There was a lot of blood on her shirt.

Gia – the other Gia – pulled off the cast from her arm and let out a content sigh, "God, that thing is annoying. Makes it hard to kill, too. Not impossible, but hard."

"K… kill?" Gia choked on her words. It had to be a lie. This all had to be a lie. She closed her eyes and tried to wake up, but when she opened them she found herself still staring at Gia.

"It was pathetic. Still, fun," she nodded, and then with a laugh turned to leave.

Gia watched her go and her chin quivered. She wasn't sure who she was talking about, but it didn't matter. It was obviously one of her friends. It was someone she cared about.

Suddenly, strength came over her. Strength she had never felt before. A few more tugs at her bonds and her arms were suddenly freed. She had no other restraints holding her down. Until now, none were needed. She had been tied to a chair and locked in a dark room. When she was free, she grabbed the chair and threw it across the room. It hit Gia – the other Gia – in the back and knocked her down. Gia raced for the door, stepping on her body as she walked out. When she stepped into the other room, she found herself face to face with her teammates. It was three against one. She felt strong, but not lucky.

"Freeze!" the door swung open with force and slammed against the wall. Robo-Knight stood in the entry way with his gun pointed at all five Rangers. Gia was relieved to see him at first, but then realized her predicament. She wasn't sure who she could trust. She had just fought herself and she was standing before her four other teammates who were clearly set on attacking her. Robo-Knight could have had that blaster pointed at her.

She knew he was strong. He was stronger than all the other Rangers, and if she made a wrong move and he shot her, she was dead. One blast from his gun was enough to destroy monsters.

She tried to shield herself as much as possible and prayed for the best.


	9. Regroup

The sound of Robo-Knight's blast went off, and with Gia unsure of who he was aiming at, all she could do was wait and hope for the best.

She heard it fire and fell to the ground. She covered herself as much as possible and prayed that if Robo-Knight did fire at her, he would miss. She blocked out her surrounding as much as she could and figured it was for the best until she felt a cold hand touch her back. She looked up and saw Robo-Knight kneeling beside her.

"You are the yellow Ranger, correct?"

Gia nodded her head and threw her arms around Robo-Knight, hugging him tightly. She had never been so happy to see him or so thankful he was her ally. Robo-Knight returned the hug lightly and pulled her up to her feet.

"Gosei alerted me you were in danger. I came as soon as I could."

"Do you know what's going on?"

Robo-Knight shook his head. "I do not, but these Rangers do not appear as humans on my sensors. I read them as threats. Was I right?"

"I hope so," Gia whispered and looked around the room. "Where are they?"

"They ran off. I missed."

"You did?"

"I couldn't hit you," Robo-Knight said. Gia smiled as she looked at him, and then fell into his arms once more, hugging him tightly.

"Your friends are on their way," he assured her. "I sense their signals getting closer."

He wrapped his arms around her and suddenly Gia felt she was lifted from the ground. She closed her eyes and clung to Robo-Knight as he soared through the sky. Before long they landed, and Gia felt her feet were back on solid ground.

"Gia!" she heard her friends call and turned to see Troy, Noah, and Jake running towards her. They stopped when they saw Robo-Knight and took out their blasters.

"It's okay," she assured them. Jake lowered his blaster and walked over slowly. Gia met him halfway.

The first thing he did when he approached her was spin her around. Gia let out a cry of protest when he lifted the back of her shirt, and then pulled down the top. After that, he spun her around and pulled her into his arms.

"It is you."

"And it's you?" Gia asked. Jake nodded his head. He kissed her cheek before pulling away from her. He looked her in the eyes. He took her hands, feeling they were bare. He looked down and saw her cast was gone.

"What happened?"

"They took it off to tie me up," Gia answered. She winced as he touched her arm. He looked to her apologetically.

"How long have you been gone?"

"I don't know," Gia said. "Noah just called everyone to his house. Emma had just walked out."

"You've been gone since then?" Jake asked. Gia looked up at him and nodded her head. Then she remembered what she had seen.

"Jake! There's… there's two of me! I mean… two of…"

"Clones," Jake nodded, "We know. They've been around the city. We figured that out."

Jake looked down at Gia. He cupped her face in his hand, "Gia, did he… he hit you, didn't he?"

"It wasn't you, was it?"

Jake shook his head, "No. No, Gia, I swear, I would never…"

Gia threw her arms around Jake and held him tight. Jake returned the hug and kissed the side of her head.

Noah and Troy walked over with Robo-Knight, "We should head back," Troy said. "Before those clones come back."

Jake nodded his head. His first priority was getting Gia to safety. He let go of her.

"I've got something to do," he said. "You guys head back."

"Wait," Gia had a look around, "Where's… where's Emma?"

She remembered the blood on her clone's shirt. She remembered her clone talk about someone being killed. Emma wasn't here now, and Gia couldn't think of a good reason why Emma wouldn't come. She was always the first one to help if she was in trouble.

Noah grabbed Jake's arm, "You're not going off alone."

"Where's Emma?" Gia asked again as she continued to look around, hoping her best friend would turn up.

"Noah…"

"Jake, it's not smart," Noah shook his head. "You're outnumbered, and we've got no idea what the clones are really capable of."

"We've got my clone at Jordan's place. We can regroup there," Troy added.

"I can search for the look-a-likes," Robo-Knight suggested, and before anyone could say anything he blasted off.

"He'll track them down," Noah tugged on Jake's arm. "Don't be stupid."

"Where's Emma!" Gia suddenly screamed, frustrated she was being ignored and frustrated she couldn't get an answer. Worry for her friend pushed her over the edge, and if she didn't get an answer soon, she might kill someone.

Jake looked to Gia and his heart broke. He took her back in his arms and nodded to the guys.

"We'll regroup at Jordan's. Someone call Emma; tell her to meet us there."

"Jake," Gia looked up at him, "Why isn't Emma here? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Jake said. "Don't worry; your clone didn't hurt her either."

Gia breathed a sigh of relief and nestled into Jake's arms. If Emma was safe, like Jake promised, then she was sure everyone was safe. Her clone must have been lying.

Jake held her tight and kissed the side of her head one more time. He had no idea what they were going to do now so he just held her.


	10. Home Invasion

While the Rangers were out looking for Gia, Emma stayed at home with Mrs. Moran. She wanted to keep an eye on her after the happenings of the morning. Not only had they just discovered Mr. Moran's body around the side of their garage, but Gia was also missing. One of those things was enough to send Mrs. Moran into an emotional panic. Both happening at once…

Emma had never seen Mrs. Moran cry so much. Occasionally she had seen the woman shed a few tears if she was extremely happy or sometimes when she was a little sad, but this was a full blown break down.

Mr. Moran's body still lay on the couch in the living room, so they stayed in the kitchen. Emma finished making breakfast and also made some tea for Mrs. Moran. All the older woman could do was sit at the table and sob. It broke Emma's heart to watch, and it broke her heart to know that Mr. Moran was dead. All her life, Mr. Moran had been like a father to her. He had always taken care of her, he had always loved her. He had taken her into his home when her parents abandoned her. He had treated her like his own daughter. In many ways, Emma felt like it was her own father who had died.

Not just died, though. Given his injuries, he had been murdered. Emma couldn't explain how. When she had fallen asleep, Mr. Moran had been in his bed upstairs. Somehow, something happened.

But it wasn't just Mr. Moran Emma and Mrs. Moran worried for. He was dead, but he was home now, and he was safe. Nothing more could happen to him, and once they were ready, they could give him a proper goodbye and let him rest in peace. At the very least, they knew what happened to Mr. Moran. Gia, however, was still a mystery. When everyone woke up that morning, no one had seen Gia anywhere in the house.

It sent a few theories into Emma's and Mrs. Moran's heads. Mr. Moran was dead and Gia was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't a far stretch to assume they were connected. Emma had a hard time believing an attack had happened in the house that hadn't woken anyone up, but something had happened. Somehow, both incidents were connected.

A beep pulled her from her thoughts and at the table, Mrs. Moran's head snapped up. Emma picked up her morpher, praying there was good news. Whatever had happened the night before, it had left Mr. Moran dead. Though she hoped Gia was in a better state, the fact of the matter was that Mr. Moran was dead and good news was a far cry.

"We've found Gia," it was Troy's voice, and those three words made Emma snatch up her morpher and Mrs. Moran run over to the counter island to listen.

"Is she okay?" Emma asked. Telling her they found Gia told her nothing about if she was okay.

"A little shaken," Troy answered, "She's fine, though. Meet us at Jordan's. We're all headed there to talk to my clone about what's going on."

"Troy, I can't," Emma shook her head and looked up at Mrs. Moran. She didn't want to leave her alone in the house, especially with her husband's dead body just in the other room.

"Emma, we'll need the whole team for this one."

"Go, I'll be okay," Mrs. Moran said. Emma didn't look convinced. "Emma, I'm serious. Go."

"I'm on my way," Emma said into her morpher without taking her eyes off Mrs. Moran, "Please don't do anything stupid."

"I'll be here when you get home," Mrs. Moran promised. "Just… go figure out what happened."

Emma nodded her head. She stuffed her morpher inside her bag and then jumped into Mrs. Moran's arms. She held her tightly, "I'll find out who did this, I promise."

"Stay safe, Emma," Mrs. Moran kissed the top of her head and watched the pink Ranger run off. When the door closed, the house felt lonely. Mrs. Moran was used to being home alone, but not like this. She would never get used to this.

With painful steps, she left the kitchen and walked to the living room. She looked over to the couch where her husband lay. They were supposed to grow old together. This was never supposed to happen.

-Megaforce-

This time, Emma took her bike. Time couldn't be wasted. When she arrived to Jordan's – in record time – she practically jumped off her bike, dumped it on the front lawn and tossed her helmet aside as she ran in.

"Gi… OOMPH!" she was taken off her feet as someone tackled her to the ground. It was aggressive at first, but as soon as she realized who had done it, she embraced her tightly. "You're okay?"

"Me?" Gia asked and sat up. "Are you okay? What happened? There was blood everywhere!"

"I'm fine," Emma said and then frowned to see Gia's arm in what appeared to be a homemade sling. Gia looked down at it and shrugged.

"You took it off to tie me up," she answered.

"I… what?"

"Clones," Jordan answered as he came out of the kitchen with a bowl for snacks. He helped Emma and then Gia up to their feet. "At least, that's what makes sense."

"It was our clones?" Emma asked and shook her head, "But how… how did they… Gia, what happened?"

"Gia's been gone for longer than we think," Noah announced and waved the girls and Troy to the living room.

"What?" Emma asked. "How… how long?"

"You had just gone to Noah's to talk about what was happening," Gia said. "It was barely a few minutes after you walked out the door that you and the others all walked in again."

"We did?"

"All part of the plan," Troy announced. Emma and Gia walked into the living room to see him, the clone, tied to the chair. There was a sick smirk on his face. "I guess it all went better than expected, then."

"Plan? Better than expected?" Jake asked. He leaned over in front of Troy, "What are you talking about?"

"Vrak's no idiot," Troy laughed. "The yellow Ranger missing from a battle for no obvious reason, only to be seen later walking the streets sporting a rather serious injury? Vrak sent us all out, once we were complete. He wanted to mess with you. We were to appear alone at first, get your brains worried that something strange was happening. Then one of us was to appear with our Rangers."

"You followed me to Noah's house," the real Troy said. "How long have you been watching us for?"

"Doesn't matter anymore, does it?" Troy shook his head. "I let you see me. I let you capture me. You'd call a meeting, you obviously would."

"How did you know Gia would be left home alone?" Jake asked.

"Because you hit her," Troy shrugged as much as he could with the rope holding him down. "You hit her, and after everything that's happened to her, she wouldn't want to come near you."

"You know?" Gia asked him.

"Vrak saw your deepest fear," Troy nodded. "He released your boyfriend from jail. Of course he knows. He knows all he needs to know about you, yellow. So, while your friends were all gathered in one little place, they left you ripe for the picking. All we needed to do was replace you, have her act normal and we could do whatever we wanted to your little team."

"That's low," Jordan muttered before he saw Emma take a seat on the couch and put her head in her hands. He turned back to Troy, "So what's next? I'll bet a rescue wasn't part of your plan?"

"It was," Troy smirked. At that very moment, the windows all smashed inside, and the Rangers found themselves surrounded by themselves. They morphed instantly. They counterparts were already morphed. Fortunately, to tell each other apart, the suits were darker for the clones. It was good for both teams to be able to tell who was who. No one wanted to kill one of their own.

Jordan, seeing a fight was breaking out in his living room, knew he had to get away. Though he wanted to be able to help, the safest thing he could do was run. He jumped behind his couch and took cover there. He hoped the clones didn't care enough to come after him.

Gia knew she wasn't supposed to, but she morphed as soon as the clones burst into the living room. As long as Clone Troy remained bound and she fought, the Rangers would be up one number, which gave them a well needed advantage. She was immediately challenged by her clone, who wasted absolutely no time trying to kill her. Gia summoned her Tiger Claw and brought it up just in time to stop her clone from piercing her with hers.

"Two hands," her clone taunted her as she brought her second fist up to punch. Gia raised her hand to block the punch but felt a sharp pain shoot up her arm as she did so. Her arm – her broken arm – wasn't strong enough to catch the blow. She dropped her Tiger Claw, which allowed the clone to swipe at her and tear her down.

"Too easy," Gia heard her say before someone jumped between them. She looked up, seeing Troy standing before her.

"Get out of here," he told her.

"But…"

"It's an even match. I've got this. Go finish off my clone. We don't need any more information from him. He's best served dead."

Gia nodded her head and pulled herself back up to her feet. She took advantage of the fact that she was morphed and pulled out her blaster. The fight was dead even, with each of the Rangers taking on their clones. Only Troy's clone was left and he was helplessly bound to the chair. She fired several shots. Her blaster wasn't as strong as Robo-Knights, but it did have enough power to get the job done. Gia watched the chair fall over after the first shot. Heard the clone cry out after the second shot, but the third shot left him silent.

Then she turned back to the fight. This wasn't over. This was far from over. She couldn't fight in hand to hand combat, but all it took was one hand to shoot her blaster. She turned to where Jake was fighting his clone. He was harder to tell apart because his uniform was already black – it couldn't get much darker. But where Jake had white, Gia noticed the clone had a shade of grey. It wasn't much of a difference compared to Jake's, but it was just enough for Gia to see. When the two black Rangers pushed each other apart, Gia fired. The blast knocked the clone into the wall, and Gia went after him with her Tiger Claw. She rammed her claw around his neck, pinning him to the wall.

"Don't you ever lay a hand on me again," she told him. She saw his hand coming up and backed away. She let go of her Tiger Claw and left it and the clone pinned to the wall.

"Duck!" she heard Jake cry and did exactly that. She fell to the ground just before his Snake Axe swung through her. Instead, it sailed over her head and the blade implanted itself into the clone's stomach. The clone powered down and the hit the ground – first his lower body, and then, once Jake removed Gia's Tiger Claw from the wall, his upper body.

Gia's clone, seeing they were now two down, looked to the rest of her teammates, "Fall back!"

"But…"

"NOW!" she screamed, then without waiting for her teammates she jumped out the window. Noah's and Emma's clone glared at their counterparts before leaving them to follow Gia's clone.

The Rangers, who were sprawled out in Jordan's living room, picked themselves up and hand a look around. Fortunately, none of them were hurt.

Jordan poked his head out over the top of the couch and looked over, "Did we win?"

"Not really," Jake answered him as he helped Gia up. "That's two down, though. Better than before."

"We have to win," Emma said. "We need to stop them."

"We're going to, Emma…"

"Now!" Emma cried to Troy. She pointed to the window, "They retreated. They know they're going to lose. If we go after them before they can figure something out, we can stop them all. There are only three of them left! There's five of us, and Robo-Knight…"

"Emma, we need a plan."

"And while we take time to come up with our plan, they'll have one of their own! They know where we are! They know where we live! They know us, Troy! We have to stop them before anything else happens."

Jordan jumped out from behind the couch and grabbed Emma in his arms, seeing she was distraught.

-Megaforce-

After retreating, the clones met up again in the street. Fortunately, their human exterior meant they could blend easily in the city without alarming anyone or causing a panic that would draw the Rangers to them. Right now, that was the last thing we needed.

"That's twice she gets the better of you," Emma said to Gia and Noah nodded his head in agreement. "I think it's about time you stop underestimating that broken arm.

"She didn't get the better of me," Gia growled. "I had her right where I wanted her. It was that red Ranger…"

"Who took her place and kept you distracted long enough so she could kill red and black. Face it, yellow, she's tough," Noah said. "I vote you quit playing around and we just end it. You can't have your cake and eat it too."

"We will not fail," Gia growled. She turned down the street, "Follow me. We're turning this around."

"How?"

Gia didn't answer. She started to walk off. Emma and Noah looked to each other curiously before following her. They walked to a neighbourhood, one they had been to before. Gia went right up to the house. She tried the door, but it was locked.

"Mom!" she knocked on the door with her fist. "Mom! It's me! Open up!"

It didn't take long for the door to do exactly that. It opened and Gia saw Mrs. Moran standing in the doorway. It wasn't for long, though, before Mrs. Moran pulled Gia into a tight hug.

"You're okay!"

"I'm fine," Gia nodded her head and embraced her mother tightly. "They didn't hurt me too much."

"Come inside," Mrs. Moran pulled her daughter in, and cleared the way for Emma and Noah to walk in. When they did, they closed the door. Gia didn't waste another moment. She pulled out the knife, the one that was still bloodied from her attack against Mr. Moran. She pointed it at Mrs. Moran. Mrs. Moran looked to the knife and then up at Gia.

"You're not…"

"Your husband went down easily. It would be a shame if you had to go too. Sit in the chair."

Mrs. Moran thought of fighting back, but seeing the bloodied knife she couldn't take the risk. It reminded her of her husband, of how he was gone, of how, now, it was just her. The girls, if they were still out there, would come. They didn't need to come to an empty home. Someone had to look out for them.

So she sat in the kitchen chair, and sat still as the clones tied her down.


	11. A Win-Lose Fight

Back at Jordan's house, a plan was coming along, but it was slow. Most of the Ranger's efforts were spent trying to clean up the house. Jordan's parents had rented a place for him, and he doubted his parents or the landlords would be too pleased to know that the living room had been destroyed.

Troy thought better when he was moving around, however, and so plans were forming in his head. He didn't have much in the way of drawing the clones out, but he was sure it wouldn't be long before the next attack. What he wanted to figure out was how best to go after them. They now outnumbered the clones, and so could attack them two on one, especially if Robo-Knight turned up in time.

He had had a rough time with Gia's clone. She was strong, and also the leader of the group, from what Troy had seen. It made sense. When he wasn't around, he trusted Gia to step up and take command. She had done so before and the team naturally looked to her as someone who could take charge. It was good those qualities had transferred over into the clones. It made them a little more predictable.

He would continue to challenge her. She was strong, but not too strong for him. Troy had bested Gia in training many times. He could do the same with her clone.

He thought of leaving Noah and Jake to fight Noah's clone. Noah seemed to fair pretty well against himself, but just in case he was too predictable for his clone, he would have Jake as back up. Brawn and brains working together would surely cause the clone enough trouble to make a few grave errors. And Noah and Jake were best friends. No matter what, they always had each other's backs and they worked very well together. Troy had seen it during training. Their styles, like their personalities, were so different, but they had a way of bringing it together to create an unstoppable force.

It was the same with Emma and Gia, thought that combination was a little riskier with Gia's broken arm. The girls were also incredible in battle together. However, Gia couldn't risk getting too personal with Emma's clone. Her arm was broken and that kept her from doing her best. Troy saw Gia fall from blocking a punch. If Emma's clone hit her with anything harder, she would be down for sure.

But when he looked across the room, where Emma was sitting on the couch, he saw nothing but rage seeping from the pink Ranger's body. She knew what waited for her back at home and more than ever she had a reason for wanting the clones destroyed. Troy could only hope Emma could control that rage enough to make up for Gia's arm without letting it go too far.

Over on the couch, Emma sat with her head in her hands. She didn't want to help the cleanup. Her mind couldn't focus on cleaning up the mess in her boyfriend's house. All she could think about was what had happened and how it had been her fault.

She traced the mistake all the way back into the woods. If she hadn't of left Gia alone to take pictures of the deer, Gia wouldn't have wandered off with Jake's clone. If she hadn't of wandered off by herself, Jake never would have hit her. That was her first mistake.

The next mistake was leaving Gia at home. She had no way of knowing there were clones running around the city but they were Power Rangers. The Morans had asked the girls stick together to keep them from getting hurt. It had happened once on the street. Vrak had attacked Gia, and if Noah hadn't been walking by, Vrak could have done a lot worse than simply clone her. Emma should have learned her lesson then, but instead left Gia home alone to meet up with the others. If she had insisted Gia come with her, Gia wouldn't have been left vulnerable and the clones couldn't have taken her. That was her second mistake.

Her third was trusting that Gia was okay after getting back to the house. Without asking too many questions, she let herself believe that the Gia she came home to was the Gia she had left. She hadn't checked to see if her friend was the real one, just that she had been okay. If she had been more thorough, if she had asked a few more questions, surely she would have known something was up. That was her third mistake, and the one that cost her the most. Because of that, because she believed the clone to be the real Gia, she allowed the clone into the house. She allowed the clone near Gia's parents. She allowed the clone to kill Gia's father.

Gia still had no idea what waited for her at home. No one knew what to tell her, or how to tell her. She was going to find out; it was only a matter of time.

"We were all fooled," Noah said as he sat down beside Emma. "You're blaming yourself, aren't you?"

"Who else is to blame?"

"The clones?"

"You didn't know. We didn't know. We were all blind. Jake spent half the night cuddling with Gia. We'll kill these clones and then…"

"What?" Emma asked. "The spell will be reversed and Joe will come back to life? I don't think that's going to work this time. He's dead, Noah. He lets me into his house and I thank him by letting him…"

"You didn't let anything happen. There's no way we could have known. We were tricked."

Emma wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist and shook her head, "The least we can do is make sure no one else gets hurt. Make sure Gia's okay. We kill those damn clones, get Gia and Vanessa back together and keep them safe. That's what Joe would want."

"You, Mrs. Moran, and Gia safe," Noah said.

Emma turned to Noah, "What am I going to tell her? How am I going to tell her?"

"Gently," Noah said. "It's going to be bad, no matter what you do, but at least if you break it to her gently…"

"Noah, her clone killed her father. We were all there!"

"We'll be there," Noah promised. It was at that moment that the Rangers' morphers chimed. Noah answered his first.

"I've found the clones," Robo-Knight said. "Come quickly."

Robo-Knight sent his coordinates through the morpher and Noah analyzed them briefly before turning to Emma with wide eyes.

"Your house."

"What?"

"Guys!" Noah cried as he jumped off the couch, "Let's go! Robo-Knight's found the clones! They've made their move!"

"Where?" Troy asked.

Noah shook his head, "You're not going to like it."

-Megaforce-

Mrs. Moran watched helplessly as Gia, Noah, and Emma sat in her kitchen, waiting for the next move. She knew they weren't really the Rangers. They were the clones, the ones the Rangers were trying to defeat, the ones who, somehow, Mrs. Moran was sure managed to kill her husband and kidnap her daughter. She had been told Gia was safe now, but she wouldn't believe it. The clones were a force she didn't want to mess with. Anything could have happened.

She looked down at her wrists, which were bound tightly to the arms of the chair. She couldn't move. She couldn't get up. She was stuck, stuck waiting helplessly for her daughter and her friends to come and rescue her, to come into the trap the clones had set for them.

"Please," Mrs. Moran begged, "I'll do anything. Please, just leave my girls…"

"Begging only makes me angry," Gia warned her. "You shut up, do your part, and you'll be fine. It's the Rangers we want."

"The Robot is across the street," Emma announced as she looked out the window. "Seems he's evacuating the neighbourhood."

"That bucket of bolts again?" Gia asked and looked out. She rolled her eyes, "Keep watch over him."

Emma nodded her head and did as she was asked. Gia then turned to Noah.

"I want you in the shadows when the Rangers show up," she said. "If they try anything sneaky, remind them what they have to lose. There are knives there on the counter."

Noah took a knife from the knife block and examined it before he walked back over to Mrs. Moran. He waved it in front of her.

"You act scared and the Rangers stop what they're doing. You got that?"

"Please, you've already killed my husband," Mrs. Moran said. "You've hurt them enough."

"They aren't dead yet," Gia said. "Seeing you in trouble will only anger them further. They'll make mistakes. This is their final battle."

Suddenly, a blast was fired through the window, shattering the glass before it hit the kitchen cabinets. The clones dropped to the ground, barely avoiding being hit. Emma stood back up and looked outside the window. Noah walked over to Mrs. Moran, grabbed the chair and pulled her over to a corner. He held the knife against her throat.

"Just sit quietly," he told her. "This will all be over soon."

"Don't hurt them," Mrs. Moran begged, "Please, don't hurt the Rangers. I'll do anything. I'll…"

Noah covered her mouth with his hand to silence her while Emma and Gia raced out of the house to meet with the Rangers on the lawn. They smirked, seeing their opponents standing angrily before them.

"This is low," Gia growled to the clones, "Even for monsters like you. My parents have nothing to do with this!"

"They have everything to do with this," the clone answered. "And once I'm done with you, I'll finish them off, just for fun. How does that sound?"

Gia didn't like the way that sounded and she made it clear by charging after the clones. Troy ran after her, as did the others, and split off into their teams – teams which Troy had suggested on the way over. He could only hope his plan would work. He went after Gia's clone, while Gia and Emma challenged Emma's clone.

Robo-Knight stayed outside to help. Seeing the red Ranger without a partner, he started there. Though he preferred to work by himself, the more time he spent battling with his team, the more he saw the benefits. While he couldn't just point and shoot at anything he perceived as a threat for fear of hitting someone innocent or his teammates, he had someone watching his back, and someone to help him take down monsters just as effectively as blasting them to pieces carelessly.

Jake and Noah ran inside the house, assuming Noah's clone was still inside. They weren't surprised by what they saw when they turned into the kitchen. Mrs. Moran was tied to a kitchen chair, and struggling to free herself while Noah's clone stood over her with a knife to her throat. He smirked as the Rangers came to a stop.

"Let her go, clone," Jake growled and clenched his fist tightly around his Snake Axe, "It's us you want. Leave her out of this."

"You're outnumbered two to one," Noah said.

The clone shook his head, "Outnumbered doesn't guarantee we'll lose. I hold something precious to you Rangers in my hands, and if I find I lose any more of my friends…"

"Mrs. Moran's got nothing to do with this!" Jake cried. "Let her go! It's us you want."

Noah aimed his Shark Bowgun on his clone, "This will hit you long before you can do anything to Mrs. Moran. Back away or I'll fire…"

"And risk hitting her?" the clone asked.

"Noah, do it!" Mrs. Moran cried. "I'll be okay!"

Noah lowered his Bowgun and shook his head. The blast would be too powerful. Even if Mrs. Moran did survive, it wouldn't be without extensive medical care. Noah couldn't risk it. He couldn't risk anything happening to Gia's mother. Mr. Moran was already dead. That loss was enough.

"Dude," Jake said when he saw Noah lower the weapon. "C'mon, man, that's out only shot! Get this creep to back off."

"Do you want Emma and Gia to lose both parents?" Noah asked. Jake's grip around his Snake Axe tightened. Noah's clone had them trapped.

"What do you want us to do?" he asked.

-Megaforce-

Outside, the battle was no better than inside. While the Rangers had a clear advantage, outnumbering the clones two to one, the clones were ruthless. Clone Gia fought Troy and Robo-Knight with everything she had – like she had no fear of death. She didn't worry about her own like or the lives of her teammates, which meant nothing was a risk for her. Robo-Knight felt the same way. When he fought in battle, he didn't think about the risks to his own life. He was a machine, and while he was programmed not to do anything that would led to self-destruction, that wasn't a risk he was scared of taking. However with a human ally, he couldn't do too much.

Troy, instinctually, tried not to put his own life at risk. It meant that sometimes, instead of charge, he needed to fall back.

"You're weak, pathetic humans," Gia said as she held up her Tiger Claw, shielding herself from a blast from Robo-Knight. "You'll fall, just like all the others. Vrak will rule this world!"

"And you'll be fit to serve him once he does," Troy snapped. He saw Gia's defences suddenly fall. He looked to her, smirking beneath his helmet, "Well, what did you think was going to happen?" he asked. "Vrak would let you rule?"

He turned his head a little to look at Gia – the real Gia – and his smirk widened. Her history with Cliff meant she refused to let anyone push her around or tell her what to do. It seemed that had transferred over into the clone. She didn't like having to serve a master.

"Did you really think he'd create you and let himself serve under you? He's using you, Gia! Once he gets what he wants from you, either he'll destroy you, or you'll live out the rest of your days as his slave! If we lose, nothing's going to stop him from taking over this Earth. Nothing's going to keep him from being king and having pathetic creatures like you work for him."

"Shut up!" the clone shouted. "You're lying! We'll serve with Vrak. He'll owe us for finally defeating you pesky rainbow punks!"

"Because Vrak's a kind and gentle soul who always makes good on his promises."

"You don't now Vrak!"

"Do you? Really, Gia, is he someone you think you can trust?"

"You'll destroy me anyways," Gia said. "I'll take my chances!"

Gia let out a cry as she raced towards Troy.

Meanwhile, Gia and Emma were on the streets, fighting it out with Emma's clone. To adapt to Gia's broke harm, they had traded weapons. Emma used the Tiger Claw, the weapon that would force her to get up close and personal with her clone, while Gia held the Phoenix shot, which allowed her to stay away and use her broken arm as little as possible.

"NOW!" Emma suddenly cried as she held her clone in place and used her as a shield while Gia fired. The blast hit the clone in the chest, and while it wasn't enough to finish her off, it weakened her considerably. Emma also took a hit from the blast, and while it wasn't enough to hurt her, because her clone's body had taken most of the damage, it had knocked her down. She let out a cough and pushed herself up on all fours, but was suddenly grabbed around the neck and pulled back. Her clone had her and when Emma tried to escape, she felt her clone's arm tighten around the neck. She couldn't breathe.

"Yellow kills her father, and I kill myself," the clone whispered in Emma's ear. "How sweet is that going to be?"

Emma tried to pry the arm away, but she felt her consciousness slipping away from her slowly, and the strength left her body. Her clone held on to her tight, making it impossible to get any oxygen, and more uncomfortable. Emma couldn't find a way out.

"Let her go," Emma suddenly heard Gia's voice. It was fuzzy, but she could recognize it. She prayed her best friend had a plan to get her out.

"You think I can be threatened?" her clone asked. "I have no survival instinct, and she'll suffocate long before I do. If I go down, I'll be happy taking her…"

The clone suddenly stopped speaking, and her hold on Emma was realised just as suddenly. Emma gasped for breath and leaned forward to move away from her clone. She turned around to see Gia, but the yellow Ranger was already gone. Beside her, Emma saw her clone. She was slumped on the ground with her neck twisted at an odd angle. She was dead. She had been killed. Emma checked for herself, just to be sure, and then muttered, "I'm glad I'm her best friend."

She looked over to the house, where Troy and Robo-Knight had been battling it out with Gia's clone. They had a hard time, because Robo-Knight couldn't risk his attacks hurting Troy, and Troy was evenly matched against Gia's clone. However, Gia had decided to take matters into her own hands. Her parents were in danger and the clones were the only things standing between Gia and her parents' safety. Nothing would take her down.

From out of nowhere, the cloned Gia was knocked off her feet as a weight landed on top of her. She looked up at her attacker and saw it was herself. She knew Gia's weakness and grabbed her arm, twisting it painfully.

Gia didn't have time to cry out in pain as her broken arm was twisted. She didn't have time to let the pain bother her. Her clone was morphed and she couldn't get her to power down, but she could take off her helmet. Her clone smirked up at her.

"Have you figured out who I killed?"

"You're a liar," Gia growled. "My friends are fine and I'm not letting you or the other copycats hurt my parents!"

"I know exactly how to control you, Gia," the clone said. "I am you. I know your fears; I know what makes you tick. I know every single one of your weaknesses."

"So then I know yours," Gia said and it was her turn to smile, "Pink clone is dead."

"So?"

"I killed her. And, it's because of me black clone is dead."

Gia saw something in her clone's eyes. She hoped it was fear. Whatever it was, it was enough to get the clone to look up and over to the street. Emma, the real Emma, was dragging the clone towards the house, getting her off the street so she would be easier to clean up later because she was dead.

"You…"

"And I'm going to make sure you're dead too," Gia whispered to her clone. The fake Gia let out a savage cry and with all the strength she had she grabbed Gia and pushed her over, switching their positions. Now she was on top, with the real Gia trapped beneath her. Before the real Gia could say anything, her clone summoned her Tiger Claw and planted it into the ground, pinning her neck down.

"One push," she taunted the real Gia, who put her hands on the Tiger Claw to push it up and free herself. "One push, and the edges of my weapon will cut that pretty little head off your body."

Gia looked up at her clone and stopped her struggling. Instead, she spit, right in her eyes. The clone had to pull away and move her hands to cover her face and rub her eyes. In that time, she was blasted by a powerful shot.

The shot came from Robo-Knight, who had to turn the power level down on his blaster so as not to hurt Gia, but he still managed to knock the clone away from her. Gia pushed the Tiger Claw out of the ground and sat up, but didn't need to do anymore. By now, she knew Emma had seen her in danger, and with Robo-Knight's help, the clone Gia was now in the perfect position for Emma to finish her off.

It was the strangest and darkest thing Gia had ever seen. Watching Emma kill a human-like creature just didn't seem right, but it felt good. The clone let out a painful scream before her life was taken from her.

"That's justice," Emma growled as she stood over the clone. Finally, the clone Gia was dead. The one who had killed Mr. Moran in cold blood was dead. The one who had stolen a husband, killed a father, and murdered a good, selfless man got the ending she deserved. Emma was usually never one to advocate a death penalty, even for the worst of crimes, but this felt right.

When she looked up to see how Gia was doing, the yellow Ranger was gone again. She turned to Troy and Robo-Knight as they both pointed inside the house. There was only one clone left, and he was the one threatening Mrs. Moran. It was no surprise Gia had gone in to finish him off.

There hadn't been a doubt in Gia's mind that she would fight this battle to the end. Gosei discouraged her form battle with her broken arm. Her mother had grounded her. But she couldn't sit back. Not this time. The clones were in her house, they were threatening her parents. Gia would do anything to see to it they were safe.

She got to the kitchen and saw a stalemate. Her mother was tied to a chair, completely helpless to protect herself while Noah – Gia assumed it was the clone – stood behind her and held a knife to her throat. Jake and the real Noah were a couple of feet away. They had their weapons out, and they looked ready to fight, but Jake couldn't swing his axe without putting Mrs. Moran at risk, and wouldn't even be able to get close fast enough to hurt the clone before the clone severely hurt or killed Mrs. Moran. Noah had his Shark Bowgun out, but he couldn't shoot it without hitting Mrs. Moran somehow. Gia felt lucky the clone hadn't just ended it there and killed her mother.

It would be his biggest mistake. Seeing she still had someone to fight for, and knowing the blue clone was the last, Gia went in. Her adrenaline, and her need to save her parents helped her move quickly. The clone saw her, and tried to threaten her mother, but Gia knocked his hand away and pushed him into the counters.

"Gia!" Jake cried, seeing her in a fight with a clone, and knowing she couldn't last long in hand to hand. She had one broken arm which was a huge weakness for her.

"Untie my mom and get her and dad to safety!" Gia shouted.

"But Gia…"

"I'm fine!" Gia turned around and shouted at Jake and Noah before she heard the clone coming up behind her and turned around to block his attack.

"Gia…"

"That's an order!" Gia shouted. Jake turned to Noah with a sigh. Gia wasn't the leader, but she was second in-command. It went without saying that when Troy wasn't around, Gia lead the team. No one had voted for her, she had just naturally taken up the position, and she was never to be argued when it came to decisions like these.

Noah picked up the knife his clone had been using and cut Mrs. Moran free with it. The faster he got her loose, the faster she could run and he and Jake could help Gia. Jake knew this two, and so picked up another knife from the block on the counter and worked with Noah to free Mrs. Moran.

"Go," he told her when all the ropes were cut and she could get up. "We'll handle it from…"

There was a whimper, then a cry, then a crashing sound from Gia's end of the kitchen. Jake couldn't finish his breath before Mrs. Moran was gone, and she had taken his and Noah's knives with her.

All she could see was someone standing over her daughter; someone was threatening her daughter. Without thinking, she used the knife in her right hand and plunged it into the clone's neck. He dropped to the ground and Mrs. Moran didn't check to see if he was still alive. She used the second knife to stab him in the heart.

Seven times. She did it seven times. One for every hole the clones had put in her husband's chest. One for every hole that had taken Mr. Moran from Emma, from her, and from their daughter. After that, she was sure the clone was dead. She took out both knives so he would bleed out, like her husband had, and then tossed them aside. She turned around and saw Gia alive and finally safe. Her tears instantly flooded her face as she grabbed her daughter and hugged her.

"I love you," she whispered to Gia as she held her close. "I'm so, so glad you're okay."

"Me too," Gia whispered as she wrapped her arms around her mother and buried her face in her neck. Then she looked up, "Did he hurt you?"

Mrs. Moran didn't answer. She couldn't answer. There was no answer. She simply kissed her daughter on the cheek.

"The important thing is those clones are gone."

"Finally," Gia whispered and then looked around. Emma, Troy, and Robo-Knight had joined them in the kitchen. Everyone was here. Everyone but her father. "Wait… What about…? Where did they take dad?"

"Gia, I…"

"No," Gia pulled away from her mother and stood up. "Is he at work? No, he… if you knew I was gone… he'd have heard about. He'd be here."

Gia had another look around the kitchen before stepping out into the front hallway. Just a few steps away from her was the living room where Mr. Moran's dead body still lay on the couch – stab wounds and all. No one said anything. No one knew what to say.

Gia walked down the hall and into the den – her father's space. "Dad?"

"Gia, please," Mrs. Moran got up and walked after her daughter. She grabbed Gia by the arm, "Come into the kitchen, and sit down."

"Where is dad?" Gia asked and pulled away from her mother. She started for the stairs, and made it halfway up before calling for her father again. She didn't get a reply and came back down. She had one place left to look. She turned into the living room.

She saw him lying on the couch.

She saw the dried blood.

She saw the holes in his shirt.

Then the holes in his chest.


	12. A Hard Night

The defeat of the clones should have been when the Rangers felt safe to return home and rest. After every battle, nothing felt better than the chance to lie back on the couch or in bed and sleep.

This time was different. This time, the end was only the beginning. The clones had been quite the challenge, and really tested the Ranger's ability to work together as a team. In a way, they had made the Rangers stronger. Every battle made the Rangers stronger – even battles lost.

But though the Rangers had managed a victory, it wasn't without cost. The clones would forever leave their mark.

"Here," Jordan offered Emma some tea and draped a blanket over her shoulders for comfort. Now that the rush of the battle had worn off, Emma was really starting to feel the loss of Mr. Moran. Biologically he wasn't her father, but every other part of her said he was. He had always been there for her from the time she was born. She didn't remember a time where she couldn't count on him for support or advice. He had done so many things for her. He had taught her how to ride a bike, bought her encyclopaedias on animals so she could study up them and their habits. He had bought her many cameras over the years and had taken her with his family on some exciting vacations.

Jordan sat down beside her at the kitchen table and took her hand gently, "I don't know what to say?"

"Something that'll bring him back," Emma whispered. Jordan shook his head and sighed.

"Sorry."

Emma looked down at her tea. The other boys came to the table and each took a seat. They looked to her sympathetically.

"If you ever need anything," Troy offered, "You know we're always ready, right guys?"

Jake and Noah nodded their heads. Emma forced herself to smile to show she was grateful for their support, but the smile quickly slipped from her face. Silence filled the house.

It was a dark silence; one that reminded Emma just how empty the house felt without Mr. Moran. His body was still in the living room, lying completely motionless on the couch, but he was gone. Any chance to save him had completely vanished by the time anyone knew something had happened to him.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by a loud scream. It was Gia, crying out upstairs as her mother explained to her what had happened. This was hardest for the both of them, but Gia especially, who thought the Rangers had just barely managed to avoid serious injuries by destroying the last of the clones.

Emma looked down at her tea again as tears flooded her eyes. Jordan put his hand on her back and rubbed gently.

"It's my fault," Emma whispered.

"Emma, you didn't do anything," Jordan pulled her into his arms. She nodded her head.

"There's a list of things I should have done! For one, I should have known my best friend had been replaced with a clone."

"That's the thing about clones, Emma," Troy said, "They wouldn't be called clones if you could easily tell them apart from the original. We were all fooled."

"Whoop dee doo!" Emma rolled her eyes, "A clone managed to trick you into believing she was the real Gia after you've known her for what? Five months? Gia's been my best friend for seventeen years! I should have…"

"You did all you could. No one knew. No one could have known," Jordan assured his girlfriend. "Emma, this was just… it was a freak accident."

"A freak accident?" Emma raised her voice at Jordan and pointed across the hall to the living room. "Joe's murder was a freak accident? You want to say that again, Jordan? Go on, say it!"

"Emma, it was…"

"It wasn't an accident!" Emma screamed. "The clone knew exactly what she was doing when she stabbed him in the chest seven times! No one heard him scream, that's how good she was! No one knew anything had happened to him until his body was cold! You call that a freak accident?"

"Emma, I…"

"Get out!" Emma screamed and pointed to the door. "All of you get the fuck out of my house."

"Emma…"

"Get out!" Emma screamed. She opened the door and demanded the boys leave. None of them wanted to. She could see the looks on their faces, but she had had enough of them trying to comfort her. She wanted them gone.

When they were gone she slammed the door then stumbled back until she hit the stairs. She took a seat and held her head in her hands as she tried not to cry.

Then she heard a door slam and footsteps from upstairs. She looked up and saw Gia tried to leave. Mrs. Moran was right behind her.

"Sweetheart…"

"Don't!" Gia spun around and glared at her mother. "What can you say, mom? What's going to make this better?"

"Gia, we need to stick together. Your father would want…"

"He's dead!" Gia screamed. "He can't want anything! He's just a fucking corpse on our fucking couch! That's it, mom!"

"Gia!"

"NO!" Gia screamed and stomped her foot. Even from the bottom of the stairs, Emma could see the tears streaming down Gia's cheeks. She wanted to help her, but she didn't think she could. She just watched from the bottom of the stairs.

"Giana Moran…"

"Stop it!" Gia hurried down the stairs and darted straight for the door. Mrs. Moran chased after her and managed to slam the front door shut before Gia could slip out.

"Gia, you're not leaving," Mrs. Moran ordered and then turned to Emma on the stairs, "Help me out here, please."

"Mom," Gia growled, "Dad's last moment was me killing him!"

"We knew about the clones. He must have figured it out. He knows you would never…"

"Dad was stabbed to death by his daughter," Gia said. "That's how he has to die? Seriously? And I'm just supposed to be okay with that? Knowing dad was murdered by me."

"You didn't do it, Gia…"

"That's not what he probably thought!" Gia screamed. Mrs. Moran shook her head and pulled her daughter in her arms. She hugged her tight.

"Your father is a very smart man," she whispered. "He'd have figured it out. He'd have known something was wrong. When he died, he loved you very much. All that matter to him was that, whatever had happened to you, you come home safe and sound. Here you are. He can rest in peace."

"NO!" Gia screamed and her knees buckled. Fortunately Mrs. Moran was holding her and could keep her from hitting the ground. They had yet to do anything since the battle. Mr. Moran's body still needed to be taken care of and Gia needed a new cast for her arm. Mrs. Moran worried that if Gia fell, she'd hurt herself further.

"I know," Mrs. Moran hugged her daughter close and whispered in her ear. She then extended a hand, inviting Emma into the hug. "Whatever you're blaming yourself for, sweetheart, you can forget about it. You did nothing wrong."

"I should have…"

"We were all fooled, Emma," Mrs. Moran said. "I couldn't tell my daughter wasn't my daughter. Your father obviously couldn't tell. We have to accept the fact that we were played. We shouldn't let this beat us. He wouldn't want us to give up."

Mrs. Moran let go of the girls and then grabbed her keys, "We'll stop by the emergency room, Gia, for a new cast. Then we'll find a place to stay the night."

"We're not coming back?" Emma asked.

Gia sniffed and looked at Emma, "Do you really want to sleep here?"

"What about… what about Joe?" Emma asked and turned to the living room.

"We'll figure something out. What do Power Rangers do when someone… dies?"

Emma shrugged her shoulders and looked at Gia. Surely this wasn't the first Ranger related death since their start as Rangers, but it was the first to hit so close to home.

"I… I guess I can call Gosei."

"From the car," Mrs. Moran said. "C'mon, girls, let's go."


	13. Going On

"You be careful now, Gia," the doctor said as he finished with the cast. This was the second time now he had to place her arm in the cast and it was frustrating for him to see that Gia didn't seem to care much for the recovery of her arm. "The cast protects it. The more you damage it or remove it, the longer your arm is going to take to heal. We don't want that, do we?"

Gia didn't give an answer. She simply looked down at her arm with a sigh. She didn't care for her arm. She didn't care about the cast. As she looked across the room, she saw her mother and Emma but there was someone missing. She would give up her entire arm just to have her father sitting there with her.

"Thank you, doctor," Mrs. Moran whispered as the doctor stepped out. Mrs. Moran looked at her daughter and then over to Emma. "I've booked us a room in the hotel down the street. We'll check in and then go someplace for dinner."

The girls didn't say anything. Emma picked up her bag and Gia's and walked out of the room. Gia followed, storming off in a huff. Mrs. Moran watched them leave and did everything she could to keep the tears from falling. She shook her head and looked up.

"Joe, how am I going to do this without you?"

Normally she knew how to take care of the girls. She knew how to calm them down or cheer them up. She knew what to say and when they needed to hear it. She was a master of tough love and warm hugs, but with her husband gone, she didn't know where to start. Gia and Emma needed something she couldn't give them, and she couldn't even begin to think of a way to make it up to them. Nothing would ever replace their father.

After leaving the hospital, she found the girls sitting on the bench in the hospital park. At the very least they were sticking together. Through all their tough times they had stuck together, it seemed this was no different.

"C'mon, girls, we need to check in," she called over to them. It seemed they hadn't heard her.

They had, but they weren't listening. They didn't want to move. Emma grabbed the edge of the bench in her hands and sighed as she looked down.

"Gia…"

"Don't you dare blame yourself," Gia growled and turned to Emma. "You couldn't have known. The clones fooled me too."

"Yeah, but…"

"Emma, if you start blaming yourself, I'm going to start blaming you. If I start blaming you, I'll hate you. I can't afford that. Besides, it was my clone that killed him. If anyone should feel guilty…"

"Gia, no."

"What? If dad hadn't…"

"Loved you? Cared about you? Wanted to help and support you? I don't know how your clone managed to do it, Gia, but she obviously used the fact that your dad was an awesome father to…"

"I could have done something different," Gia muttered. "Maybe not be so stupid. If I had never fallen for Cliff…"

"Gia!"

"I wouldn't need help. I wouldn't be a stupid, fragile, helpless…"

"Stop it, Gia!"

"I should have just been… different. If I didn't… if I wasn't… It's me, Emma. It's always me. It's got to be me. Maybe I am the problem. Maybe… maybe Mrs. Holling is right."

"She's wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong!"

"Girls," Mrs. Moran walked over after calling the girls a few times from the path, "We need to check in. Are you coming?"

"I need some space," Gia shook her head. She got up to leave but Emma went after her. She grabbed her arm but Gia turned around and shoved the pink Ranger into the ground.

"Last time you needed space…"

"Leave me alone!"

"No!" Emma jumped up to her feet and glared at Gia, "We're staying together, Gia! I don't care what you say…"

"Staying together got dad killed!" Gia screamed. She shoved Emma again and then stormed off. Emma tried to follow her, but Mrs. Moran grabbed her.

"But, Vanessa…"

"She's got her father's temper," Mrs. Moran shook her head. "She needs to cool down."

"She's going to get hurt."

"I'll go after her," Mrs. Moran said but as she was about to leave she looked to Emma and sighed. If she went after Gia, she would be abandoning Emma. However, Emma was right, Gia couldn't be alone for long. Someone needed to stay with her. Both couldn't go after her. She would only feel ambushed and lash out even further.

Mrs. Moran was trapped. Without her husband, there was nothing she could do. Normally, in cases like this, one would stay with Emma while the other would follow Gia. Mrs. Moran couldn't go both.

So she let Emma go. At least the girls could stick together. At least they would have someone.

That left her alone. Mrs. Moran sunk to the park bench as it all hit her over again. He was gone. Joe Moran was really gone. She hit her face in her hands as she started to cry loudly. She didn't care who heard her. She didn't care who saw. She had lost her husband. She would do whatever made her feel… anything.

"Excuse me."

She looked up and saw a man leaning over her. He had a worried look on his face. He placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Mrs. Moran wiped her eyes, "Sorry, I just… it's been a rough day."

"Do you want to talk about it?" the man asked. Mrs. Moran shook her head.

"I can't. Too personal. You understand."

"I do," the man said. "Well…" he hesitated to leave. He looked like he had something he wanted to say. Mrs. Moran welcomed him to take a seat. When he sat down, he looked to her.

"Sorry, it's just… you look a lot like a student of mine."

"Are you a teacher at Harwood County High?" Mrs. Moran asked. She knew many of the teachers at Gia and Emma's school, but only because she had been called to several parent-teacher meetings. Gia was an amazing student, which concerned some of her teachers. Many of the meetings involved the teacher suggesting Gia be transferred to a school that would challenge her a lot more – a more specialized school for student of her aptitude.

She couldn't recognize this teacher, though.

"Well, officially in September," the man said. "But I introduced myself to a few of the staff and students. I've taught a few classes as well, just to get a feel for what it's like."

"My daughter is Gia Moran."

"Oh, Gia," the man nodded his head. "I've met her. She's a great kid. Her and all her friends."

The man then turned to the hospital again, with a worried look still on his face, "Well, if you don't mind my asking… is everything okay? This isn't a great place for me to run into the mother of one of my students."

"It's… it's been rough," Mrs. Moran answered. She wasn't sure what would be done about her husband. She knew she couldn't start talking about his death yet because there was no cover story. Emma had contacted Gosei to let him know what had happened, and Gosei promised the mess would be cleaned and there would be a suitable explanation for what happened. A story Mrs. Moran could tell to everyone who knew her husband – especially his boss at work, who would demand to know why Mr. Moran wasn't showing up. "Joe, my husband, is sick."

"Is it serious?"

"It's not looking good," Mrs. Moran answered and thought for now that would have to do. "I don't know what I'm going to do without him."

"Do you want to head inside to see him? I can walk you to your room…"

"No," Mrs. Moran shook her head, "I've got to check into the hotel down the street. My daughters and I are staying there for tonight, just to be a little closer to him."

"Then how about I walk you home?"

Mrs. Moran looked at the man and nodded her head. She didn't know him, but he seemed kind and she didn't want to be alone. He offered his hand and helped her up from the bench.

"By the way, I'm Thomas."

"Vanessa."

-Megaforce-

After the clone ordeal, and Emma kicking him out of the Moran house, Noah went straight home. He had a lot on his mind. Most of it was trying to come up with a way to help Emma and Gia over the loss of Mr. Moran. It was truly terrible what had happened and Noah deeply wished there was something he could have done to prevent it all happening.

A little part of him was selfish. While he did feel great sympathy for the girls, he was glad it wasn't his family. He was glad he had managed to keep his parents completely unaware of his Ranger duties, and thus completely uninvolved. At the end of the day, he was happy it was Gia's father and not his who had to die.

So when he walked into the house, he couldn't bear the thought of not staying close to his parents.

"How was the sleepover?" his mother asked as soon as he walked through the door. Noah joined his parents on the couch. He wasn't too sure how to answer that one.

"You know what they're like," he said, and before his parents could question the odd response, he asked them, "What are you doing?"

"Just watching TV," Mr. Carver said. He pointed to the screen, "Want to join, we just started a movie."

Noah nodded his head, which surprised his parents. He usually preferred to spend his time studying or working on an experiment in the garage. Noah was never happier than he was when he was busy learning something new, or creating a new project. He rarely liked to sit back and relax in front of the TV.

"Is everything okay?" his mother asked him. Noah looked over.

"I just… I've missed you guys," he said. "Lately, we haven't been able to spend a lot of time together."

All of that was true. His normal teenage life kept his busy long before Gosei chose him as the blue Ranger, but since he had starting saving the world he had seen very little of his parents. Thinking back to it, he realized that if it had been one of his parents the clones had killed, he wouldn't have ever been able to remember the last moment he shared with them. It had maybe been months, or even years since they had gone out to a restaurant together or had a family night just the three of them.

"You've… you've missed us?" Mr. Carver asked, surprised the words had left his teenage son's mouth. Noah wasn't like most other teenagers. He was a brilliant student – smarter than some adults, so far smarter than a lot of the people he attended school with. He also never showed an interest in girls or dating in general, setting him apart from all the other hormone rules kids his age. However, one thing he shared in common with the rest of the teenage population was that he never had enough time for his parents. He was always off hanging out with friends or working on a project.

"Yeah."

"Your father and I were thinking of pulling out a board game," his mother answered. "Would you like to join us?"

Noah nodded his head and smiled. He walked to the games shelf to pick out a game and with his parents' help he set up the board.


	14. What To Do?

After spending more nights than she cared to admit in a hotel room, Mrs. Moran was finally back home. It was hard being in the house she had once shared with her husband, knowing he was long gone, but avoiding reality wouldn't get her anywhere. She needed to face the facts. Her husband was dead.

As Gosei had promised, he had taken care of Mr. Moran's body and with help from the Rangers a story had been fabricated to explain his death without connecting him to the Rangers. Just like Mrs. Moran had told the man she met at the hospital, Mr. Moran had gotten very sick, very suddenly, and passed away only a couple days after being rushed to hospital. It meant the date on his death certificate was off by a few days, but that didn't matter. It was now official and Mrs. Moran felt it was time to treat it as such.

She hadn't seen much of her daughters since that moment at the hospital. Whenever Gia was around, she was stomping her feet, slamming doors, and yelling. She was angry, very angry, over her father's death.

Emma, as usual, was doing all she could to help, but she was wearing herself down. Mrs. Moran could see it in the pink Ranger's eyes. She blamed herself, and wanted to do right by the Morans by taking care of them. Mrs. Moran never once entertained the thought of either of her daughters being at fault for what had happened, but nothing could get through their thick heads so she let them cope the way they needed, deciding to only interfere if she saw either of their behaviour becoming harmful.

That morning, as she walked from her bed on an air mattress in the living room to the kitchen, she heard a light knock at the door. Worried it was another one of the neighbours coming to offer her a meal, she hesitated to answer it. However, she did think maybe it was Thomas stopping by. He had been nothing but kind and helpful since running into her at the hospital. He had walked her back to her hotel and when he bumped into her at a restaurant the next morning, he sat with her to ask how she was doing. He listened to her, told her a few of his stories from his past to take her mind off what had happened to her husband, and helped her make the decision to return back to the house.

And he did all that without stepping over boundaries. It didn't need to be said, but Mrs. Moran was not looking to replace her husband already. She still wore her wedding ring and had no plans to take if off anytime soon. And if anyone asked, she still referred to her husband in the present tense. She was still very much committed to him and only him. Thomas understood that. He was just a friend, just Gia and Emma's teacher who wanted to help a family in need.

So she walked to the door and opened it. She smiled to see him standing there. She invited him inside.

"The girls are still sleeping," she said. "You'll need to be quiet."

"How are they?"

"Same old," Mrs. Moran sighed. She walked to the coffee maker and put on a pot, "Can I get you anything?"

"I ate on the way over," Thomas answered. He held up a paper bag, "I bought you a bagel."

"You didn't have to."

"I had a coupon."

"Thank you," Mrs. Moran smiled and took the bag. She grabbed herself a plate and sat at the table with Thomas. "So, you're a teacher?"

"A science teacher," Thomas said. "Mostly paleontology. The school is trying to branch out a little bit and reach out to more students. I used to be a teacher at Reefside High."

"Reefside? Why did you move out here?"

"A change of scenery," Thomas shrugged. "Harwood is a beautiful city."

"I guess you haven't noticed the seven foot insects running around," Mrs. Moran muttered.

"Monsters don't scare me."

"You're either really brave, or a complete idiot," Mrs. Moran chuckled before hearing light footsteps coming down the stairs. She braced herself for what would happen next as Gia walked into the kitchen and saw her and Thomas at the table together. This was the first time either of the girls caught them.

Fortunately, Gia didn't say much. She glared at Thomas and then looked at her mother, "What's Dr. Oliver doing here?"

"Doctor?" Mrs. Moran turned to Thomas, "You said you were a teacher?"

"With a doctorate. I prefer the high school setting."

Mrs. Moran nodded her head. Dr. Oliver was free to do what he wanted with his degrees. She looked back to Gia.

"He's been helping me."

"Whatever," Gia rolled her eyes. She grabbed an apple from the bowl and then walked to the front door. As she reached for her helmet, Mrs. Moran cleared her throat.

"You're still grounded, young lady. I told you, no Mountain Boarding until that cast…"

"Dad's dead, mom. I'll do what I want," Gia strapped the helmet to her head which forced Mrs. Moran out of her seat. She walked to the door and picked up Gia's board.

"The punishment still stands."

"No."

"Yes, Gia. Go upstairs. Get changed. We're finally going to get some new furniture."

"You can't ground me! That's not fair!" Gia screamed. "So what? Dad being dead isn't punishment enough? I'm not allowed to ride, either?"

"This is separate, Gia. The timing is terrible, but you made your choice when you…"

Gia let out a cry of protest as she ripped off her helmet and tossed it across the hall. Mrs. Moran was about to ask her to pick it up but Gia stormed out of the house instead. She set the board down in the hallway and turned around to look at Dr. Oliver.

"I'm sorry about that."

"I'm not a parent," Dr. Oliver said, "But I do work with teenagers. Maybe you could have let that one go."

"I don't want her getting hurt," Mrs. Moran shook her head. "That's already her second cast for that arm. Besides, Joe wouldn't want…" Mrs. Moran took in a deep breath, "I just wish he were here, Thomas. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how to help the girls, or even how to help myself. If Joe were here…"

"You wouldn't be having this problem in the first place," Dr. Oliver said. He got up and walked over to Mrs. Moran. He put his hands on her arms, "I'm not saying everything happens for a reason, but humans are built to overcome any problems they are faced with. You're going to figure this out."

"Not without Joe. He was my rock."

"He still is," Dr. Oliver smiled. "You've just got to do what's best for you and for the girls."

"But I don't know what's right," Mrs. Moran sighed. She looked up the stairs as Emma came down. She too looked ready to head out.

"Gia…"

"Already left," Mrs. Moran pointed to the door and Emma hurried out. Mrs. Moran wasn't even sure she had noticed they had a guest. Now with Emma gone, Mrs. Moran turned back to Dr. Oliver, "I worry for her too."

"Emma? Why?"

"I just… I feel like I need to keep a close eye on her."

"I'm sure you're a good mother, Vanessa. You'll figure this out, and if you ever need anything…"

"Thank you, Thomas."


	15. Dangerous Behaviour

Emma stopped her bike at the end of the trail. This was the deepest into the woods she had ever gone. She had never seen the end of the trail before. She had never gone so far into the woods that she left the city, but she needed to get away.

She didn't bother locking up her bike. She was sure there was no one around to steal it. She leaned her bike against a tree, put her helmet on the seat and then started to walk. She kept her backpack with her. She always had it with her.

She didn't know where the forest would take her or what would happen when she reached the other side, but she had to keep going because she didn't want to go back.

It was a long walk, probably about another hour or so, but the forest thinned out and eventually she reached the end. She thought there would be another city on the other side, but all she saw was sand and water. She was at a beach. She took off her shoes and walked down to the water. She put her toes in and looked out.

Her parents had abandoned her. They had always been present, and still walked this Earth, but they weren't her parents. Her father had gone to extreme lengths to try and win her back after she made it clear to him she was happy with the Morans. He used a gun to threaten Gia, and had every intention of killing her to show Mr. Moran how it would feel to lose a daughter. Nothing happened, fortunately, but Emma wanted nothing to do with a man who would act so selfishly and take the life of someone innocent just to avenge his pain.

She had recently called it off with her mother. She didn't make a promise that they would have a future, either. She didn't want to make a promise. Her mother had never been there for her. Her mother had chosen extravagant vacations and shopping trips over her. By the time Mrs. Goodall realized what she had done, it was too late. Emma didn't want anything to do with her, at least, not until the anger and hurt settled. Even then, Mrs. Goodall would never be her mother.

She had new parents. Good parents. Amazing parents. But in one night, that had been taken from her. Mr. Moran, a man who had raised her like she was his own daughter, a man who had taught her to ride a bike, who had celebrated birthdays and big family events with her, a man who taught her to ride a bike, how to swim, how to tie her shoes was dead. Mr. Moran was a man who loved and cared for her in spite of all the drama it caused his family. He looked out for her, he had her best interest at heart. She felt safe with Mr. Moran. She felt like the world couldn't hurt her as long as she had a father like him looking out for her.

If that wasn't enough, the guilt she felt was unbearable. She had let the clone Gia kidnap her best friend. At the time, she hadn't known there were clones running around, but she had been a Ranger long enough to know never to leave a teammate, especially one that was vulnerable, alone. Gia had been vulnerable. She had believed Jake had hit her. Emma never should have left her in the house alone. It was her fault Gia had gotten hurt. Worse than that, it was her fault the clones had been able to switch Gia for the fake one. Emma should have known, she should have done something. She should have double checked when she came back.

Or, she should have sent the Moran parents away. The night Mr. Moran was killed was the night the Rangers were on duty. They knew there were clones wandering the city. Emma knew there was trouble. She never should have let the Morans gotten wrapped up in Ranger business. When they were home, she should have sent them to a hotel for the night, or to a friend's house. She should have gotten them away from the danger. If they had spent the night in a hotel, Mr. Moran would still be alive.

Even more, Emma should have heard something. From what she had seen the following morning, Mr. Moran had been killed either inside or around the house. He had been stabbed, seven times, in the chest. Emma should have heard a scream. She should have seen something. She had talked to Gia – the clone – that night. It couldn't have been long after that Mr. Moran was murdered. There were so many things she could have done for the man who had done so much for her.

She let him down, she let Mrs. Moran down, who had been just as kind, generous, caring, and loving as her husband. She let Gia down. There was no doubt in Emma's mind that Gia expected Emma to protect her parents when she couldn't do so. Emma had to believe that, though Gia said it wasn't true, Gia blamed her father's death on her. Emma had been there. She could have done something. She should have done something.

Emma could even stretch her guilt as far back as the day she found out the Moran parents knew she was a Ranger. She had been living with them at the time. They had already taken her into their home because she didn't want to move, and would fight with all she had to stay in Harwood while her parents went away. If she had never let the Morans take her in, if she never let the Morans become her parents, she never would have found out they knew. Maybe they never even would have known. They wouldn't have gotten wrapped up in Ranger business, and Mr. Moran wouldn't be dead. He would have his life, Mrs. Moran would have her husband, and Gia would still have a father.

Emma took a seat in the sand. The tide was coming in so the water was rising, but she didn't care. She looked out at the water and sighed.

-Megaforce-

Her mother had told her not to, but Gia went to the mountains. She left her board and gear at home, so she had to rent some from the cabin at the base of the mountain.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" the man said as he handed Gia a helmet. He pointed to her broken arm, "I don't advise injured riders to ride. You're just asking for trouble."

"So are you, if you don't let me go," Gia snatched the helmet and put it on her head. She was just about to walk out when she bumped into Jake. She saw the look on his face, saw he wasn't happy, and sighed.

"Jake…"

"When I called your house, and your mother said you went out by yourself, I knew I would find you here," Jake said. He grabbed the board from her hand, "You're going to get hurt."

"I don't care."

"What would your dad think of this?"

"He's dead, Jake. Dead men don't think," Gia took the board back and bumped shoulders as she walked past him.

"You're disappointing him, Gia," Jake called as he went after her. "Your mother sounded really sad and worried on the phone. Emma hasn't been the same since your dad died. Should you be with them? Is that what he would want?"

"He wouldn't want to be dead," Gia started to climb the mountain. "But he is, so I don't think what he wants means anything anymore. It's not like he's around. It's not like he knows."

"Gia, you can't pretend he never existed…"

"I'm not! But he's dead, Jake, and as far as I'm concerned, I killed him. This is my fault. I don't think he gives a damn about me anymore."

"Gia, you know that's not true. Your dad loved you. I don't think he would believe for a second that you would…"

"Jake, did you not get a close look at our clones?" Gia asked. "They were identical. They were us! There was no way to tell them apart! Dad couldn't have known."

"You'd be surprised…"

"Were you there? Do you have any idea what he was thinking?"

"No, but…"

"So then you have no right to speak for him," Gia reached the top of the mountain and set her board down. She put one foot up. "I was stupid enough to be switched, and I wasn't strong enough to make it home in time to save him. My clone, a perfect copy of me, probably even a piece of me, stabbed by father in the chest just to see him die. I killed him. It doesn't matter what I do. He doesn't care."

"What about the people who do care?"

"You're wrong."

"You're wrong, Gia. You're wrong about all this. Get off your board, I'll take you home."

"No," Gia placed her second foot on the board and after a little jump she started to roll down. Jake grabbed her arm quickly and pulled her off. The board went down the mountain without her.

"You're going to get hurt!"

"I don't care!"

"I don't want to take you to the hospital, Gia. Not again!"

"Then don't!" Gia shouted. She saw another rider approaching the trail and took his board from him. Jake looked apologetically to the guy, and tried to explain Gia didn't normally behave that way. When he turned around to convince Gia to return the board, he saw she was already headed down the mountain.

"That's my board!" the boy called out angrily. Jake saw another mountain boarder going down the mountain after Gia and he started to run down as well. He kept a close eye on Gia, and was glad the slope was straight all the way to the bottom so he could see her no matter how far ahead she caught.

The second mountain boarder caught up to her in no time. It was clear he was a lot more experienced that she was. There was a little dispute between the two of them. Jake could hear the yelling. Then the boy shoved Gia off her board. She tumbled down the hill. The boy took her board from her and handed it to his friend, who had run after Jake and Gia down the hill.

"Bitch," the boy said as he took back his board. Jake ran past both of them and over to Gia. He helped her to sit up.

"You're going to get hurt. Gia, let me take you home."

"No."

"That wasn't a request," Jake said. He tried to lift her, but Gia shoved him away. She got up and started to look around for the board she had rented. Jake found it first. He grabbed it and held it up. He was only slightly taller than Gia, but he could hold it out of her reach.

"Give it back, Holling," Gia growled.

"No, I hate seeing you like this, Gia. You're going to get hurt…"

"I'm already hurt!" Gia screamed. Jake lowered his arms slightly. It was enough for Gia to take back the board. She wasted no time heading up the mountain again. Jake watched her from the bottom. He saw her reach the top, he saw her start, and he saw her hit the dirt hard. She climbed back up and tried again, but not before looking down at Jake to see the worry in his eyes. He saw the pain in hers.

"Come down, Gia," he called up after her fifth fall. "You don't have to do this."

Gia climbed the mountain again, but this time she didn't go to the beginner slope. She went up higher. Jake felt his heart racing as he took off, up the mountain. He could only hope he reached her before she tried anything stupid.


	16. As A Family

Jake was fortunate enough to catch up to Gia halfway down her dangerous ride on the mountain. He tackled her off her board, causing both of them to hit the ground hard, but it was better than her getting hurt. The board continued to roll down and then off a ledge a little ways off because Gia had strayed from the path just like she had done when she had broken her arm.

"Are you an idiot?" he shouted as he pushed himself off of her and stood up. He brushed off the dirt, "Do you want to get yourself killed?"

"Jake…"

"No! No!" Jake shook his head and grabbed her arm. He pulled her up and away, "You're going home."

"Let me…"

"No!"

"Jake, please, stop it!" Gia shouted and she tried to pry his hand from her arm. He wouldn't let go as he dragged her off, thankful she had nothing more than a few scrapes from her dangerous stunt.

-Megaforce-

Emma felt the water rising as the tide came in. When it reached her waist she felt enough was enough. Looking out to the ocean gave her a lot of time to think. Many thoughts had come to mind. Some were dark, but some were a little more hopeful.

She felt pain. She felt anger. She felt guilt. But as she looked out at the ocean, she knew she was supposed to keep going. Mr. Moran was gone. He had protected his family for over seventeen years. He had protected her from the day she was born. He had welcome her into his life, and the life of his family. The least she could do was repay him. His family was back at home and she should take care of them. Gia was suffering. Mrs. Moran was suffering. She had to help them. She had to protect them.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Moran," Emma whispered out to the sea, "Thank you for everything you've done for me. I promise, I'm not going to let you down."

She ran back through the woods until she found her bike. Then she headed towards the city.

-Megaforce-

Gia whimpered as Jake pulled her off the bus and started to walk her down the sidewalk. The bus stop wasn't far from her home, so there wasn't much further to go. Jake felt fortunate for that. He hated having to force Gia to do anything. He hated that his grip on her was so tight. He hated that he was taking her somewhere against her will. He wasn't trying to hurt her, but he felt like he was controlling her. It was a feeling that didn't sit well with him, and he couldn't imagine how people like Cliff could enjoy it.

He got to her house and opened the door. It was still unlocked so he assumed someone was home. He dragged her into the kitchen. Mrs. Moran and Dr. Oliver were still at the table, having a talk with a magazine in front of them. They were looking into buying new furniture for the house, after the Sanzu Water destroyed the main floor of their home, and their furniture.

"She's hurting, Mrs. Moran," Jake explained as he sat Gia down in a chair. He knew he wasn't saying anything that Mrs. Moran didn't already know but he felt she needed to hear it again. "I found her at the mountains. She almost did something stupid."

He wouldn't say what she had done. He figured she was suffering enough, and Mrs. Moran already had too much on her plate.

"The mountains, Gia?" Mrs. Moran pinched the bridge of her nose. "Sweetheart…"

"I don't care, mom," Gia scoffed. She crossed her arms over her chest. Mrs. Moran got up and walked over. She knelt before her daughter.

"I do, Gia. I care about you. I care if you get hurt. I don't want to see anything happen to you. I know you're upset. I know you're probably scared…"

"Scared of what?"

"I'm scared, Gia. I don't know what I'm going to do without your father. I'm so scared. Why can't we…?"

Gia turned her head away. Mrs. Moran held her hand.

"Gia, look at me, please."

"He's dead!"

"I know."

"I killed him!"

"No," Mrs. Moran shook her head. "No, Gia, I don't want you believing that for a moment."

"Maybe I should go," Dr. Oliver said as he got up from his seat. He knew all about the Rangers, and figured Gia's father passing away so soon after clones attacked was more than just a coincidence. However, he didn't want to accidentally hear something he shouldn't, or be around in case Gia said something she didn't mean. This was a personal, family moment, and he didn't feel comfortable staying. He looked to Jake, "I'll take you home."

Jake nodded his head then knelt beside Gia. She showed no emotion to him but he took her in his arms.

"It's going to be okay, Gia. I don't know how or when, but we'll get through this. Just stay with your mother, alright?"

Gia didn't answer. Jake didn't expect her to. Her walls were up. She was angry with him. She was angry with the world. He let out a sigh and turned away from her to follow Dr. Oliver out.

Mrs. Moran kept a tight hold on her daughter's hands, "Gia, you can't keep this up. Let me help you."

"Dad's dead. I don't see how anything could help. Let me go."

"We can't get through this if you… Gia, please, this isn't what he would want…"

"He's dead!" Gia screamed. "And I'll bet you anything his final thoughts weren't _I hope my family is okay_. He was probably wondering what the hell his daughter was doing plunging a knife into his chest!"

"Gia…"

"I killed him!"

"Your clone, Gia. She killed him. We knew about the clones, he probably figured it wasn't you. He must have been so worried about you…"

"Bullshit!"

"Gia…"

"That's a lie and you know it!"

"No, Gia. No it's not…" Mrs. Moran held her daughter in her arms, "Oh, Gia. Gia, you have no idea how it feels."

"Mom, I…"

"Your clone fooled me too," Mrs. Moran said. "How else do you think she, Emma, and Noah got into the house? I thought she was you. I was so glad to see you were okay that I didn't think."

Gia started to sob into her mother's shoulder hearing this. Mrs. Moran rubbed small circles on her back.

"It's okay, Gia. It's okay, because as soon as she threatened me I knew she wasn't you. I didn't… Not a second passed where I wondered why you were doing this to me. I figured it out the moment the clone turned and the first thought to pass through my head was whether or not you were still okay. Your dad and I, we had that in common. We don't care what happens to us, as long as you're okay."

Mrs. Moran gently squeezed her daughter, "That's why this Ranger things hurts us so much. Every time you're in battle. Every time you get called for a mission, or you're not home, or you're not by our side, we're worried. It takes us both hours to fall asleep because we're scared something could happen to you."

Mrs. Moran pulled away from Gia and held her face gently, "I am truly devastated over the loss of your father. He's the only man I have ever loved. I don't know what I'm going to do anymore, Gia. But… but…"

Mrs. Moran looked down as more tears came to her eyes, "If it had to be one of the two of you..."

"Mom…"

"Gia, you have a part of your father inside of you. No matter what happens to him, he's always there. I see him in you. You have his smile, his charm, his protective attitude. You have his strength, his generosity. You are your father's daughter. He lives through you. But if it had been you instead of him… through you, I still have your father, but he and I could have a million babies, and there would be no way we could ever get you back."

Mrs. Moran hugged her daughter again, "I know I can't speak for him. I know there's no certainty to these words, but I'm sure we shared the same belief because he loved you more than anything. I know, if it had been me, and it almost was, my only concern would be your well-being. If it had been me your clone killed, my final thought would have been you. My final wish would have been that you were safe. It's got to be the same for him, Gia."

"But you don't know."

"He didn't know," Mrs. Moran said. "He died unsure of where his daughter was, or what had happened to her. Even if he didn't know it was the clone, he knew something must have happened. He died with so much worry for you in his heart."

Gia sniffed and looked away from her mother, "That doesn't help."

"You are okay, Gia. It's too late for him to know, but his wish came true. You're here at home with me. You're safe."

"But you don't know that was his final wish."

"I knew my husband!" Mrs. Moran raised her voice to try and get her words to sink into her daughter's head. "All we want, as your parents, is for you to be okay. For you to be happy, healthy, safe, and loved. Maybe it wasn't your father's last thought, we're never going to know what that was for sure, but I'm damn right about it being his final wish!"

"Mom…"

"And you, running around on the mountains, disobeying me, paying no mind to you safety, and bringing yourself down when everyone is trying to help you is doing nothing to honor that wish or his memory. Your father would be so disappointed in this behaviour if he were here right now, Gia. This is not what he would want to see from you."

Gia looked up at her mother. Her eyes watered. She shook her head and tried to run from the room. Her mother caught her arm and pulled her in for another warm hug.

"I'm sorry, Gia. I didn't mean to shout."

"Mom…"

"I'm still here, sweetheart. I can help you."

"I miss him."

"Me too," Mrs. Moran nodded her head, "So what do you say we miss him together? He's not here anymore. He can't be here anymore, but we can't… this can't tear us apart. I've lost my husband; I can't lose my daughter too."

Gia wrapped her arms around her mother and buried her face in her shoulder. Mrs. Moran stood there with her daughter in her arms. She didn't know what to do, or how to help. She would have to play the future by ear and by herself, which scared her immensely, but she knew she had to be there for her daughter.

In the middle of their hug, the door opened. Emma came home. She was sweating, she looked tired, and her face was red and puffy from having cried. Mrs. Moran never let go of Gia, but she reached one arm out and invited Emma into the hug.

"I know it doesn't feel right," she whispered to the girls, "but we are still a family. It's going to take some time, still, but we need to start acting like one. It's what your father would want."

Emma nodded her head. She pulled away from the family hug and reached into her bag. She pulled out another bag, which looked like she had gotten take-out.

"I picked up dinner," she said. "I figured no one would feel up to cooking."

Emma then looked up at Mrs. Moran, "And… I called my mother."

"Emma…"

"Not for me," Emma said. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise. I called her for you."

"For me?"

"She was your best friend, right? And you need someone," Emma whispered. "She's in Oklahoma, but she's taking the first plane back. She'll be here tomorrow morning to help out."

"Sweetheart, you don't have to…"

"You shouldn't be alone," Emma shook her head. Then she turned to Gia, "Also, I called Serena."

"You did?" Gia asked.

"She always knows how to make you feel better."

"So do you."

"I figured the extra hand could help. She'll be here tomorrow morning too."

"What about you?" Mrs. Moran asked. Emma shrugged her shoulders.

"I'll be okay. You two need someone more than I do."

Mr. Moran sighed. She looked into the bag of take-out food, "You know, there's more than enough in here for an extra plate. Why don't you call Jordan over?"

"But, I…"

"Emma, don't argue with me," Mrs. Moran said. "You're hurting, I can tell. Go call Jordan. I'll set the table. We'll eat this meal…"

"As a family?" Gia helped her mother get it out. Mrs. Moran nodded her head and smiled.


End file.
